When you were young, and barely knew anything yet, you started to embark on a series of adventures, ranging from small to great. Whether it was learning to walk, your first job, your first kiss, a new relationship, or starting college, you were embarking. It was scary, you had a little practice, and were probably just winging it most of the time. There’s a reason the term “Fake it ’til you make it” came into being.
The word embark means to begin, to commence, to undertake, to set about, to jump in.
And what journey exactly are we embarking upon here? I would say life. Throughout our lives, we embark. And we don’t really stop this process—whether you know it or not, or like it or not, you need to embark.
I’m beginning to think that, for most of the big things I started embarking upon in life, I had no clue whatsoever as to what I was doing. I knew very little, and was probably better off that way. Otherwise, I probably would’ve been too freaked out by the road that awaited ahead of me. The road of life. So much unknown, unforeseen, and unexpected surprises, horrors and delights.
Going to college, starting a vocation, getting married, buying my first house, having kids. This was the big time, and there was no instruction manual, as they say. I never felt quite ready or prepared for the matters at hand…I mean, did you? No, we’re rarely ready. But we do it anyway, and things work out. At least most of the time they do. Whether good or bad, we learn to smooth and straighten things out, and hopefully develop a good rhythm and pace as we do our embarking. Some of us get in the zone, find our sweet spot, both good places to be.
Just recently, I celebrated 15 years in business—operating my own small business affectionately known as Saint Creative. I am amazed and astonished that I’ve been doing this for 15 years. I embarked upon this adventure in 2010, in the middle of the great recession in Detroit. I really had no clue what the future would hold. But I set forth regardless, upon this path, a most excellent adventure, and here I am 15 years later. Still doing it, still embarking.
There are some people who don’t really know what they’re doing in life. Don’t have a clue, a plan, a blueprint. I know a few people in this position. I can sense their frustration and struggle, feeling stuck or uninspired.
If you are here, here are a few simple things I’ve learned along the way.
Number one: Any progress is progress. Celebrate the small victories along the way. Action is better than choosing to remain stagnant any day.
Number two: A plan is better than no plan. Even if it’s not the “best plan”in your mind, it beats not having a plan. Maybe there is no such thing as the best plan anyway. And you never know what things will come about as a result of you setting forth initially, even with your semi-underdeveloped plan. You may surprise yourself. But you still have to do it, you still have to go.
I remember talking to my friend Scott several years ago as he was planning a big move from Tulsa to Las Vegas. I asked him if he’s ready, and he said, “Not really. It’s really just all the little things that I have to think about, and worry about.” He was right. The major things were set in place, and the minor things would take care of themselves later, in time. He was moving because of a new job. In order to embark upon this next chapter, Scott had to find a new house, and once he did, he had to sell his old house, and rent a moving truck. Those are the big things, the rest of the tiny details fell into place after he arrived in Vegas. Finding a new grocery store, switching, bank accounts, putting together the kid’s beds, trying to find dinner, writing emails to let everyone know, etc.
But we embark. With little details, little intel, little understanding, we embark.
My challenge, my encouragement to you…is to keep embarking.
Perhaps no better time to engage or embark is at the beginning of a new year. There’s something special about January to me. A new year, new beginnings, new potential, new possibilities, new plans.
I recently asked a group of friends this question: Is your life turning out how you imagined it would when you were in your early 20s? I got varied responses to this question. It’s interesting, because the answer could go both ways.
Have you ever had a friend or family member confide in you and tell you they didn’t think they’d be “In this place at this phase or stage in life?”
Coming from a place of disappointment, failure, discouragement, or setbacks, one could say that they never could’ve imagined their life turning out the way it has.
On the other hand… Coming from a place of success, surprising victories, unexpected joys, unique & unforeseen gifts, one could also say that they never could’ve imagined their life turning out the way it has.
It’s a fine line, a razor’s edge. I thought about it some more, and I realized that I really couldn’t imagine how my life was going to turn out at 22. Who really can? That’s Ok, maybe that’s part of the whole adventure…
When we embark, sometimes we walk confidently, sometimes we trip or stumble or learn hard lessons, sometimes we run with the wind.
In reflection, I wrote this poem:
Stumbling Into Life
I stumbled into life
As a child
When I tripped on the sidewalk
And skinned my knee
I felt the summer grass beneath my bare feet—
Optimistic and completely carefree.
I stumbled into life
As a teen
When I enrolled into art school
It all started with drawing comics and shoes
I could sense creativity flowing in my veins—
Optimistic and establishing a name.
I stumbled into life
When I met my wife at the church altar
Committing my young self to her
When I had no clue whatsoever
Could possibly be in store—
Optimistic and wanting more.
I stumbled into life
In my twenties
When I started a vocation
(Not some big career)
Growing as a digital artist on a personal quest—
Optimistic and full of restlessness.
I stumbled into life
In my thirties
Wanting to walk desperately Into the Wild
When I discovered my life mission:
Divine inspiration as centrality—
Optimistic coupled with intentionality.
I stumbled into life
When kids arrived on the scene
A prayer for confidence and courage
(A thousand prayers up to heaven)
The weight of responsibility is always near
Yet somehow I remain optimistic—
With a dash of doubt, determination and fear.
I stumbled into life
When I found my spiritual shapers
Erwin, Eugene, Makoto, Brennan,
And a few others who speak my language
Fueled by passion and not by fame—
Optimistic with resistance to the mundane.
I stumbled into life
Well into my forties now
Hand to the plow mentality
Trying to turn on the faucet of wisdom drip
Adding my own fingerprint and flavor—
Optimistic with a call to slow down and savor.
I’ll stumble into life
When I reach my fifties and beyond
Whatever is found around the next bend
Because I’ve already committed my life to Him
That part is settled, my journey is secured—
Optimistic with a hope and a future.