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"The heights by great men reached and kept,
were not obtained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
were toiling upward in the night."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I'm proud of my oldest son, Tim.
He's thirty years old, graduated college seven years ago as a communications major; now he works as a waiter at the local Chili's.
Hmm...proud?
You see, Tim is also a singer/songwriter. His dream is to make it his profession. Not to become famous...but to get paid to do what he loves. So he works a menial job that allows him the flexibility to work on his music.
What am I supposed to say to him, don't follow your dreams? If I did, I'd be a hypocrite, cause I followed mine. And the road was pitted with unlikable jobs and odd choices...all a means to an end.
Blessed be the toilers.
In obscurity, Tim works hard on his music. He plucks away on his guitar and writes, he plucks away and writes.
When he finished college at Illinois State University, he was the lead singer of a mainly local band. They recorded a CD, played venues mostly in Bloomington, Illinois and Chicago, and won lots of "battle of the bands" contests.
But most of his band mates weren't very dedicated or committed; they had other professions, other responsibilities that divided their focus. After a few years, Tim got frustrated with it all and the band busted up.
He spent a couple of years reeling because he had worked hard and little had come of it, or so he thought. He wrestled with continuing.
Two years ago, he got back at it.
I'm proud of him. Those who find out who they are, see clearly what they love and pursue it are to be greatly admired.
Many toil. Some make it, some don't.
But one thing we do know is that if one isn't willing to toil, there is zero chance that he or she can make it. Toiling makes the realizing of a dream possible.
Call me a foolish father who wants the best for his son, but to me it's one thing to tell a son that you're proud once he succeeds. That seems easy to me. It's another to tell him you're proud while he toils. That you're proud of the journey he's chosen, whether it works out or not. That you're proud of the courage it took for him to make that choice.
When I launched my speaking career fifteen years ago, there was no guarantee that I would succeed. Most speakers wash out. It was a huge risk and there were scary times.
So it is for Tim. So it is for all toilers. Toilers make us all better.
So being the foolish father that I am, I'm going to pass along to you his latest video found on YouTube of a song he both wrote and performs. You may not like it. That's okay. Maybe I'm simply seeing through the prism of a parent's eye.
But...maybe not.
Either way, blessed be the toilers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-8LkkSMMS0
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