Remember we were traveling in California and we found ourselves walking through one of those huge outdoor malls. As we made our way from one place to another, we stepped onto an escalator, and I noticed something.
Almost everyone who got on it immediately stopped walking.
They stepped onto something that was already moving and just stood there while it carried them to the top.
And it made me think about life.
As your dad, there are a lot of things I hope for you. I hope you’re successful. I hope you’re happy. I hope you have great careers, strong families, meaningful friendships, and a life filled with purpose. But more than any of those things, I hope you never become someone who stands still waiting for life to carry you.
You will meet people who spend their lives looking for someone else’s momentum.
They want someone else to create the opportunity.
Someone else to take the risk.
Someone else to do the hard work.
Someone else to solve the problem.
They spend so much time looking for a ride that they never learn how to climb.
Don’t be those people.
When you step onto an escalator, you have a choice. You can stand there and let it carry you, or you can keep walking and get there faster.
Life works the same way.
There is nothing wrong with opportunities. There is nothing wrong with help. There is nothing wrong with having people who believe in you and open doors for you. Those are blessings.
But never mistake an opportunity for an excuse to stop moving.
When someone gives you an opportunity, work harder.
When someone believes in you, prove them right.
When a door opens, don’t just walk through it. Run through it.
The people who accomplish extraordinary things aren’t usually the smartest people in the room or the most talented people in the room. More often than not, they’re the people who simply kept taking steps while everyone else was standing still.
And here’s something else I want you to remember.
One day the escalator may stop.
The job may disappear.
The opportunity may go away.
The market may change.
The circumstances may get harder.
When that happens, the people who were standing still get stuck.
But the people who have been walking all along barely miss a step.
That’s because their progress was never dependent on the escalator. The escalator just helped them move faster.
I hope you become people who keep moving forward no matter what.
Keep learning.
Keep trying.
Keep showing up.
Keep growing.
Keep taking the next step even when nobody is watching.
Because life rewards motion.
And if you keep moving while everyone else is standing still, you’ll be amazed at how far you can go.