NOW!

In my few years of existence, and having learned from different cultures and traditions, practices and principles, man-made and divine, I have discovered that the one most common need of man is to make impact. We need no in-depth study to realize that we were wired to make impact, and made to strive to fulfill that need. One question looms long on my mind as I write - if we all were created for impact, do we all make impact? If well-meaning people were singled out from the rest of the human race, would this question be answered in the affirmative by everyone in that group? Maybe not… I have spoken with people from different walks of life, and the majority of these people have had dreams – some still do. They hold ideas of a future of purpose and of impact, and excitedly speak about their part in this beautiful tomorrow...But there's a snag. I have spoken to the same people a few years down the line and I've found out - they either were not as enthusiastic today as they were a few years back, or they still keep talking about these 'dreams' and of a future that seems to me, is only somewhere in their imaginations... Well, this may not be breaking news, but it certainly holds true: countless people have died with the 'talk' still on their lips. They did not live their dream. Graves have swallowed so many unfulfilled visions that were 'almost' realised. Bringing this sad news back home to my personal life, and having done a thorough soul-search, I had to conclude, that among many dream killers, the twin demons of indecision and procrastination took the lead. The feeling of just being lazy, and the deception that it can be done tomorrow have robbed people of their life's purpose and the fulfillment of it. I had to sincerely ask myself lately, 'if you took a ride to, say five years down your past, surely you gave yourself some tasks then. Check what time you would have filled in as your accomplishment date. Probably 5 years from then (which is now), or probably 3 (two years ago). Ride back to the 'now'. How many of those things have you actually done? All? A few? None? What then happened? Let me guess: In your mind's eye, you probably didn't think of the future as that close to you. So you thought you had time. You wanted to quickly attend to urgent needs of today. 'I'll deal with that tomorrow', you must have said over and over again. And here you are, five years down the line, not having accomplished all… Leaving the past behind now, write a fresh list. Give yourself goals - what would you want to do tomorrow, next year, or in a decade? Plan. Now, wait one second. Before you put off that list again till tomorrow, remember, tomorrow is NOW! The future is now. If I would be a keyboardist in future, I am a keyboardist now! So, if I don't have the skills now, what do I do? I get them now! I'll never be a keyboardist tomorrow if I do not get the skills now. If I will publish books tomorrow, then I must write today! In fact, NOW! If I cannot write now, there is no gain-saying the fact that I will certainly not be a book author tomorrow. I can scream this truth again and again - The future is now! I am aware that there are bottle necks, and there may be real road-blocks. I understand. The truth is, roadblocks were and would always be there. So, part of your work for NOW is to identify them, and find ways to get past them. Has it ever occurred to you that those who fulfilled their dreams had road-blocks? They did! OK, if you feel you really are etched in and hedged around with 'impossibility', just do one thing for yourself - take just one step, then another, and then another. Make consistent steps. Just retain consistency... If you do this, I can foresee your future. It's one of dreams fulfilled, one of impact! How did you surmount those challenges? I'll tell you - some were not as big as they appeared from a distance. Others appeared just at the time your resolve grew, but your strength had increased, so there was no stopping you. Others were like a mirage -they were never really there in the first place... You made it, not just because you were wired to, but because you understood a very key truth- the future is NOW!