What It Takes

I am the type of person who tries to find inspiration from anything and everywhere. My Twitter is full of retweets from people as different as Andrew W.K. and Russell Wilson. I try to find things that connect with me and (ideally) push me in the direction in which I want to travel. This summer, I heard a song called “What It Takes” by a band named City Lights. Both parts of the chorus truly resonated with me in very different ways.

Is this real? Am I just killing time, travelling on a road that leads to nowhere?
In life, it’s not enough to have all the tools necessary to succeed. We have to put all those pieces together in order to achieve lasting success. Life doesn’t give us rewards based on potential. Sometimes, that process of putting things together can make us feel as if we are wandering aimlessly.

Hearing those first lines of the chorus transported me back to junior high. I had just received Donkey Kong 64 as a birthday gift, and I was really excited to dig into the game. I had finished the tutorial and was ready to play the first level, but there was one problem. I had absolutely no idea how to get to that level. My fun was awaiting me, and I knew once I reached the level I would be fine, but getting there was something that wasn’t easy for me.

There are parallels between that story and my life. I am well aware of the things I want from life, and I understand that there are some things about myself that need to be tweaked a bit in order for me to finally get to where I want to be. I know I have the tools; I’m just not always the best at putting everything together (my dad says that my life sometimes is the equivalent of putting together a puzzle in the dark; that is, I take an already difficult task and needlessly complicate it). Sometimes I feel like I am just killing time travelling aimlessly. But there is one piece of knowledge that separates the Jakob of today from the kid who was playing Donkey Kong. I realize that guidance is the quickest way to get off that aimless road. Yes, I still make some of the same mistakes that have plagued me for years, but I’m getting better. I am so appreciative of the guidance that I receive from many. Slowly but surely, the pieces are coming together.

Today’s the day. I won’t give up the fight. Instead I’m gonna prove I’ve got what it takes.
The first half of the chorus was a bit pensive and dreary, but the second half of the chorus comes out swinging. We all deal with adversity and self-doubt. We wonder if the road we are travelling is truly worth it or if all it is going to lead to is a dead end and the subsequent frustration that accompanies dead ends. Setbacks are inevitable. I have yet to meet a person who has gone through his or her life undefeated. But the simple fact that we have lost before does not doom us to live the existence of a loser for the entirety of our lives. It is on us to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, look ourselves in the mirror, and say with conviction “I’ve got this.” We have the pieces we need to get to where we want to go. Yes, we may not have made it there yet. BUT THAT ENDS TODAY. The path to our someday starts now. There is no reason to give up. Keep fighting, and you will get there. I’m learning how to be a better me. I’m shaking old habits and learning not to focus so much on the past or future. I’m not there yet, but I will be there soon enough. I’ve got what it takes. So do you. It’s time we prove it.