From Start to Finish

Last night. 6:54. I collapsed on the couch in a heap of pregnant ready to watch The Bachelor. I spent the weekend at the Louisiana Association of Student Councils Convention in Shreveport with 1,300 incredible young leaders. Other than a small variety of mishaps– super fun stuff.

While I was there, I had the incredible privilege of listening to an amazing speaker, Mike Smith. When Mike came out, I honestly did not have a clue why he was coming on stage. Shaggy hair, a beanie, and full of tats, he didn’t look like the typical “convention speaker.” As he began talking, I think I (and everyone) became so enthralled in his story that the next hour passed in a blink as we became so utterly inspired. I kept trying to look down to text sweet husband and tell him how awesome it was, and I just couldn’t tear my big ears away from all that Mike was saying.

If I tried to adequately retell Mike’s story, I would butcher it, but let me give you a synopsis. Young kid obsessed with skateboarding is moved to small town Nebraska where sports are the only way of life. He is puny and invisible, until suddenly, he’s not. He becomes a jerk of a high school kid, until suddenly, he’s not. He takes the time to befriend another invisible kid, Calvin. This ultimately leads to a transformation in his high school and the world.

Mike has all kinds of amazing projects of which he is a part… non-profits, speaking, nationally acclaimed success. (You can read more about these things here, and here, and here and here.) As we were leaving the conference that night, we were discussing how inspiring his story was. One of the girls said, “But, like, look at all he’s accomplished. How do you even start something like that??” To which I responded, “You don’t.”

You see, Mike didn’t start rescuing souls and making a difference across the world. He didn’t go to the bank and loan out the money to start two non-profits and all of these amazing projects. He started with Calvin. He started by going sit in the dark hall with Calvin one day. And that’s it. That one act of being uncomfortable, of stepping out, led to greater things than I’m sure Mike ever imagined.

Friends, I’d like to tell you– It’s all been a lie.

(Wait, what?… Hang on.)

At the beginning of the conference, they gave us these arm bracelets that said, “FINISH STRONG”… which was interesting because we never have two identifying markers of our attendance. We always just wear nametags. What was even more interesting was that they never really referenced the purpose of those darn bracelets the whole weekend. But the last night of the conference, it hit me. I knew, at least for me, why I had that darn bracelet.

You see, for most of us, we have bought into the lie that our most enthusiastic moments come at the start. Like runners out of the gate, our best effort should come at the starting block. We will start something WHEN… WHEN we have all of our ducks in a row. WHEN we have the resources to make it what it should be. WHEN the time is right. And then our finishes? Our finishes look a whole lot like the end of my weekend– collapsing in a heap of exhaustion where we just coast on in on fumes.

Today. Right in THIS moment. Find a way to START. Start something you’ve been too scared to do for too long. Don’t be intimidated by your lack of resources. Don’t sit around waiting for the time to be right. Just START. Start small. And then, FINISH STRONG…