Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A said that "the greatest joy in life is the ability to give". Giving is at the core to a fulfilled life. In the selfless giving of our time, our treasure and our talents that we find meaning and fulfillment. I've experienced this in my own life. I've had the opportunity to participate in some incredible things, be a part of some great teams and represent the United States at the 2007 world grappling championships. If I was given the option to have my world title and the other athletic titles i've earned, or to have the satisfaction that came with the times i've been able to live generously, i'd hands down, no questions asked take the satisfaction that comes from living a life of generosity.
I do have one thing to say about generosity though. Our generosity will always be limited by one thing, and that is our preparedness. You may be wondering what I mean by that. I'm happy to explain. Along with this blog post, I posted a video of one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done. I met a young man named Issac years ago. Issac was born with a congenital disorder called arthrogryposis. He was born with 1-10% of the normal muscle mass a normal person would have and club joints. I won't go through all the details of our story, but about a year after I met him, I decided that I wanted to do something with him that he'd never forget. He was into the outdoors and at the time was a boy scout, so I asked him if he wanted to hike a 14er with me. I knew that him hiking a 14er meant that I was going to carry him up a 14er. That being said, when i embarked on this journey I had been done competing as an athlete for several years but had stayed consistent in the gym with my training. Because of that, I was prepared for that moment of generosity.
How many times have you seen something that pulled on your heart strings? Something that you knew in your heart that you wanted to make a difference with yet when you looked at how much time you have available, or you looked at what you had in savings, or your own lack of resources or connections and you had to pass on what could have been one of the most fulfilling moments of your week, month, year or even life because you didn't have the resource. Its for this reason that i'm a big proponent of maximizing your potential in every arena of life. "The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today"
I would encourage anyone and everyone to do their best to maximize their potential professionally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally and financially. Its only by doing this that we can be prepared for that great moment of glory or generosity that may only strike once or twice in our life. Also, by doing this, we'll be better prepared for any adversity that comes our way as well.
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