My Definition
The definition of Keystone is “a central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together”. Maybe another keystone you thought of was Pennsylvania back in the day. Now I’m going to share with you what my keystone is.
If I had to pick one or two words that describe my keystones in my life, I would probably pick determination and passion. I think those would be the top choices for me. 15 plus years ago. I didn’t have much determination or passion in my life. I had a passion for sports, I’m very athletic and that was something I always looked forward to doing. But looking back now, I don’t think I tried as hard as I could have.
I Get It Now
I didn’t like school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation. The only thing I knew was I wasn’t going to college and I couldn’t wait to get out of graduation. I was so uncomfortable, I felt like a loser and I just wanted to get my diploma and keep walking right out the door.
I’m very lucky, I have had amazing people around me when I was in school. I was very lucky and I get it now, I didn’t back then. I had both parents and a great family. I never had a teacher that said you will never grow up to achieve anything special or great with your life. You will be a loser and you will fail and your dyslexia will always hold you back. Thankfully I never had that. But in my mind and the back of my head, I wish I would have.
I Wasn’t Ready
I didn’t want to go back to my school or a reunion because I felt like a loser and I was worthless. Maybe other people didn’t feel that way about me, but it doesn’t matter. In this case, it matters what I think. I didn’t feel good enough for the world and felt like a waste to society. If I wanted to be successful and I wanted to be. Then I need to work harder and change some things, so I did.
In my early 20’s I wanted money because I thought that’s what defined your worth and your success. Yes, it might play a small part, and be one of the sides on your plate, but that’s not the main dish. I created in the back of my head the kind of story that athletes or self-made successful people have. Some of them had the people around them say they wouldn’t do anything great, then what, they went on to do smooth great. I didn’t have that, but I used my mindset to create a life with those words spoken to me.
I Finally Found It
I was my own critic and biggest enemy against myself. I pushed myself to do something with my life. If I wanted to be successful then I have to change a lot, and it won’t be easy. If I want to be a published author then I have to work. If I want to be successful then I have to do the stuff I don’t like or am not very good at or enjoy. I had to grow and get out of my comfort zone. This bubble of mine I was in that was protecting me from the real world. I had to pop that sucker and take a chance and free myself.
That’s why my keystone is so important. My passion is what helped me take my writing more seriously and try and take it down a path I never expected in my life. Now I’m a published author and will be publishing my second book with my wife later this year.
Determination is the other part of my keystone in my life. My passion helped me to get a taste for writing and how free and alive I felt for the first time in a long time. When I was writing I was happy, I was creating something and using my God-given talent that I believe he gave me. When I was writing in my early 20’s that is the first time I think I had that feeling that this is what my calling is and what God wants me to do. My determination helped push me towards a career that I never thought would actually happen. It helped push me to do stuff I never thought I would be doing in my life.
Never Pictured This
A few weeks ago, I spoke at Lindsay’s old church that she grew up in. Now if you remember I had three main goals that I had in my life. The first was to get married I never thought that would happen. A few days ago, I just celebrated nine months. Now I just spoke at my wife’s old church, how crazy is that? The second was to become an author. 76 days after getting married in 2018 I published my first book. My top two goals in a matter of almost three months. My third goal is to become a dad, well hopefully one day if I’m lucky but not yet haha. That scares me more than my first two goals combined.
With that, I challenge you to find your keystone. It doesn’t have to just be one thing, I picked two. This is for you. The point of this is to challenge you and find what helps you every day to keep going and what’s important to you in life. My determination and passion are key ingredients in pushing me in life and pushing me out of my comfort zone. If I don’t have those two then I feel I don’t have purpose and meaning in life. I finally feel like I’m living now and I don’t feel like a zombie anymore. Those two words were the backbone for helping me improve and better my life. What’s your keystone?