At any moment in our lives when we are faced with decisions that we are not sure of making we lay in the middle of the muck in a place I call "existing."

Often times we know what we want and need to do, but for some reason (fear of failure perhaps?) we don't take the steps to accomplish them. Also, we don't make those tough decisions because we think someone will be hurt or we will be alone and vulnerable. We are scared to face the reality of our choices so we instead choose to stay in a place of comfort. It's is familiar - we know it - no surprises.

Well ladies and gentlemen, life is meant to be lived and if you are existing in it - you aren't living it. I love the saying "if it were easy everyone would do it" so why not set yourself apart from the rest of civilization and do something about making your life what you want it and dream it to be?

How many times have you said to yourself or heard someone say "I'll do that when….such and such is done, gone, completed…etc.? When I have more….time, money, etc.? Guess what people? We have to decide (yes there is work involved) to make time…and the first step is to write it down on paper. In reference to having more time, what would you get done if you woke up ½ hour early each day and committed yourself to working on your goals? I can tell you that in one month you would gain 15 hours (based on a 30 day month). Oh…I can already hear it "Chris…I'm not really awake until 10am" or "you expect me to think that early in the morning?" Well my friends those are excuses and the difference between you and the people who are achieving their dreams is that they don't make excuses. They decide (there is that work again) to get enough sleep so they wake up excited about getting one-step closer to realizing their goals. It is completely up to your attitude each morning when your eyes open to think to yourself "wow…what a great day this will be" or "God…I wish I had another 4 hours to sleep!" Now, ask yourself which category do you fit in? I'll hedge a bet here and say it was the latter. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

Again, this is about accepting or changing it - meaning your life. So, if you are comfortable with how your life is today, then accept it, embrace it, love it, and give that everything you have. However, if it isn't and I'm guessing that by the mere fact of you reading this that it isn't (no offense). So why not take a chance and start today by making small changes and sacrifices to get what you truly want and desire - wouldn't that be so AWESOME? It takes work yes, but I guarantee you that when it is all said and done you will be so much happier for committing to the work, applying yourself, and sticking to what is in your heart.

Depending on your age, you might have said to yourself on one occasion or another "wow…time has flown by!" or "where did the time go?" or the regretful statement "I wish I had done this sooner!" Stop for a moment and think (really think) about how many people died today in car crashes, from heart attacks, from simple accidents - do you think they woke up this morning thinking they still had plenty of time to achieve their goals? If your answer wasn't yes you are lying to yourself. There is no guarantee of how much time we have on this wonderful planet, so why not begin today to give your life everything you have to give?

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday…was it worth it? I'll bet Elton John's tupe' that it wasn't.

Okay, so you decided to keep reading so I'll keep talking! Accepting or changing applies to every part of your life. Let's summarize the main areas of an average person's life:

Let's start off with the all too important career topic shall we? Ask yourself right now "Do I really enjoy getting up and going to work everyday?" If the answer "NO" came out before you finished reading the question then we have work to do. Ask yourself this "why am I spending a majority of my day doing something that I am not passionate about?" I'll guess the answer is "because I need the money Christopher you dumbass!" If that was your answer, I completely understand because I too did answer that same question once upon a time until I…YUP decided to make a change in my life. You've heard the old saying "do what you love and the money will follow" well ladies and gentlemen, the money doesn't always peck at your ankles that is for sure. However, do you want to be remembered for doing what you loved and were passionate about or for working a thankless 9-5 job that put macaroni and cheese on the table? I can hear it now at your funeral "Jeff would come home every night complaining about his job…God we miss him" or how about this "although he didn't make much money, Jeff always had a smile on his face, warmth in his heart, and knew that he was doing something he loved." Which one would you want to be remembered for? Again, I'm guessing the latter right? Money is important don't get me wrong, but it isn't everything. Oh wait I can hear it "Chris..you don't understand…I have a mortgage, kids, and bills that need to be paid…I just can't abandon it to chase my whimsical dreams!" Yes, I understand that as well and am not advocating that you dump your day job to become a trapeze artist, but I am suggesting that you begin taking small steps to living with passion and purpose.

There is a wonderful word called "compromise." And what is suggests in its definition is that maybe we don't save the world, but we donate our efforts to a cause that is important to us. We impact one person at a time and perhaps leave a legacy that perpetuates further humanitarian efforts. My dream, and still is, is to be a rock star! I want to be in front of a stadium full of people who are singing my song back to me - plain and simple. If I had that happen, I'd die a happy man. What are the odds of having that happen in this lifetime? Um..Zero. However, I could compromise and perhaps practice my guitar playing skills and perform at coffee houses and have people come to see me. Would that be an awesome feeling for me? Yes, it would. To make music that people enjoyed listening to while they slurped an ice coffee would be success at this point in my life. What would that take to make happen? I wouldn't need an agent, a recording studio, or a band etc. I would need to decide that it was a priority and set forth to make it happen. However, since you are reading this it is because I decided that writing this book was more important than being a famous coffee house musician with a fan club of six. I accept that this is my destiny and if I die tomorrow and you take this to heart and begin living with passion and excitement for each day, then I will be fulfilled.

If you read my bio you know that one day I decided that I would no longer accept my life as it was and immediately made decisions to change it and I tell you with 100% honesty it was the hardest decision I had ever made, but the best one. Life is full of tough decisions, but the rewards can be tremendous and they are in my case. Don't get me wrong, I've made some bad decisions, but the key is I learned from them…most of the time!