How Far Are You Willing To Go?

If you’re like me, you recognize that our children provide us with a great excuse to be kids ourselves. Over the past 12 years, I have cherished the time I share with my son Matt, and I’m very intentional and intense about that time. The interaction and the relationship are what’s important. The event, the game, or the environment can enhance the time, but they are not the focus. It is time invested in his future. Sadly, so many parents miss out on this precious time.

I’m blessed that Matt enjoys to go to movies with me. As adults, we rarely venture out to the rated G movies on our own. Sadly, we sometimes miss out on some incredible messages.

It’s been a couple of years since we saw the Disney movie “Meet The Robinsons” together. I walked away from that movie absolutely on fire. Look at any summary of the film, and you’ll see that the life lesson was to keep moving forward. Failures, mistakes and setbacks are not obstacles. They are not the end of the line. They are an opportunity to learn and to grow. They refine us, and they lead us to better solutions.

We only fail when we quit.

Disney himself is credited as saying, “Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

The “keep moving forward” concept is critical to who I am and how I live my life. But was that enough to set me on fire? Well, no. I drew something else from the film that resonates with me to this day and drives me forward with strength and energy. With intensity.

I claim it was on the opening screen, even before the film itself. I may have the wrong movie. I may be misquoting the message. I may have been the only person in the theater who saw it. I can’t seem to find a reference to it anywhere. It's not on the DVD. But it is burned into my memory and is as real as the day I saw it.

“Everyone on this planet has a dream. The question is how far you are willing to go to make it come true.”

From the moment I heard that, I knew that I must be faithful to the dreams planted inside of me. How far indeed would I be willing to go to make them come true?

You have a dream planted inside of you. Do you have the courage to find it? Do you have the passion to follow it? Are you willing to step out, to keep moving forward and to persevere in the face of any obstacle?

How far are you willing to go to make it come true?