It never really comes down to how much you know or who you know. That helps of course, without any doubt, but it doesn’t really come down to that. It’s not even how much money you have, or how much education you’ve amassed, or how much natural talent you have. In the final analysis any race is won by finishing, any dream is reached by getting there, and none of it can ever happen if you don’t keep going.

You have to keep going. Keep going when you’ve made a mistake or made several mistakes. Keep going when those mistakes are huge, or as little as buzzing mosquitoes that bug your inner conscience.

You have to keep going when you aren’t really sure why you should. All that self doubt and anxiety that comes with deciding to go after something is just evidence that you are on your way. Yes, there is anxiety that is unhealthy and must be mitigated with meditation and a deeper sense of being, but the type of anxiety you’ll feel when you are determined to reach new heights you need more of. Not less, but more of. It’s counter intuitive but this is precisely the kind of tension you should seek to make and keep.

You have to keep going.

You can’t stop when others are amazed how come you’ve come, because you’re not there yet. In a sense you will never get there. You’ll have some accomplishments along the way, but you need to push and live until you draw your very last breath. People mean well. They want to celebrate and congratulate you for things they admire, but don’t celebrate too early. Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t rest on your laurels but continue to pursue what no one else can ever get for you.

Keep going.

Adjust your course. Take time away from everything when you need to. Pause if you must, and you’ll must, but always keep going. One moment to the next, one hour after another. See each day blend into another, and as each month passes each other, and you grow older, keep going.

Life is about the time in between. That’s all we have and that’s all we really need. We have so much if we really think about it, and we need to get out of our own way. We have to get out of our own head. We have to encourage ourselves and each other to live more meaningfully, to give more freely, to become fully human.

So keep going. No matter if it’s winter or summer. No matter if you’re an introvert in a crowded room, or an extrovert sitting alone in a coffee shop. Keep going because you were meant to keep going. Your heart always beats for you. Your liver always cleans shit up for you. Your lungs forever clean up the carbon dioxide and give your life affirming breath. You should not waste any of their effort and do what they do. Keep going.

Chase your dream. Build a life you want, and help others do the same.

Cover photo generously provided by photographer Ricardo Cruz.

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