I went to the bank today to make some changes and had a great conversation with the guy who helped me. I asked what kind of name his was and he told me it was Biblical. I asked what it meant and he told me the story around it. I told him it sounded like a writer’s name. He saw the account name Horizons Magazine and asked what kind of magazine it was. I was glad he mentioned “biblical” as that helped me know how to answer him. I told him it was Florida’s body mind spirit magazine and I asked if he knew who Wayne Dyer was. He did not. He was 24. I said he was a best selling author in the field I was in, and that he was on this month’s cover.   

He said he’s interested only in family and surfing right now but his dream is he’d like to write about it some day. What kind of degree, he asked, should he get to do that? I asked what he wanted to write about and he said surf journalism, travelling around surf spots and writing about the surf culture. I told him he didn’t need a degree and he may not even need writing lessons. What he needs is an intense interest in the topic, a real passion for writing about it in detail, and skill in expressing himself. If what he initially writes sounds boring, then he’ll be led to some writing courses that will help him better express his passion so the readers can get it as much as he gets it.  I told him, it’s like hiking miles every day on a hiking trip if you’ve never been. You may start out weak and exhaust easily but day by day you’ll get stronger and learn helpful techniques for the journey along the way as you begin doing it. And you don’t need to plan it all out, you just need to plan the next step of it because by the time you’re standing on that step, you will begin getting ideas and inspiration for the next step.

Inspiration, the word means not only to breathe, to inhale, it means to influence, to enflame, to blow into. Who blows life into our bodies and influences us and enflames us? God does, and he’ll let us know in the moment of the need, in the moment of our asking “Now what? What next?” that we’ll be answered in many, many ways.

He is always breathing inspiration and guidance into us. When we get still and breathe and listen, inspiration and ideas will begin to pour. If you’ve got a question out there to the Universe, always be on the alert for the answer, often in a way you don’t expect it. If you’re alert and on watch for it, you won’t miss it. And if you do miss it, that’s ok because opportunity always comes back around.

Also, I told him, what comes back around, and this is good to know when you’re 24, is that everyone in your life who ticks you off is likely to come back into your life every 20 years. People you don’t particularly care for early on will become your best friends decades later. The less bridges burned, the easier the cleanup.

He’s 24 and has 2 young kids. He wants to be married to his wife forever he said. They had a plan, to put their personal plans on hold, crank out the kids and the dollars and get established with house etc and then hope they can get back to their dreams.

I told him he was smart to focus on the family now, build that up and 18 years will fly since he has a goal and he’ll begin working toward it. I told him he’s in the information gathering stage for the next 10-15 years. It’s enough for him to do to gather and process information on surf culture. He can work toward it by beginning to read online and follow the competitions, get to know the names, just little by little as time allows.

Focus on raising the kids and cranking out the dollars to establish the empire. By the time the kids are grown, he will have attracted enough information to know what the next step will be, and not to be surprised if he is led in another direction altogether. In the meantime, take time each day to sit and breathe while pondering his questions. Take time to be inspired.

The entire convo took about 10 minutes as we updated my account. He said thank you as I stood to go, and he reached in for a hug. I was surprised but delighted. I could tell light bulbs were going off for him. I went out to the car and brought a magazine back in for him. He seemed excited to get it. My heart opened wide.