One night, a man in his sixties passed away in the night. He awoke to find himself sitting at the gates of Heaven.
He was warmly greeted by an angel who appeared to be his tour guide. They walked together for awhile and then entered a tall building.
Once inside, the man was taken down a long corridor containing many rooms on both sides of the hallway. One of the doors was marked “Wishes.”
The man stopped and asked, “What’s in this room?” The angel replied, “You do not want to go in there.” This response peaked the man’s curiosity and he reached for the door nob.
Again the angel replied, “You won’t find any peace inside that room.” Unsure of what the angel meant, he decided to enter the room anyway. After all, what could be so bad? He was already dead.
The man entered the room and saw rows and rows of filing cabinets that seemed to go on forever. Upon further inspection, he discovered the rows were in alphabetical order and each filing cabinet had a name on it.
“Do one of these files have my name on it?” the man inquired. “Yes, but it will not bring you peace to seek it,” replied the angel.
Suddenly the man found himself running…no…more like floating…down the isles in search of his name. Then, all at once, there it was. The file with his name on it.
As the man cautiously placed his hand on the handle of the filing cabinet drawer, the angel spoke once more. “Are you sure you want to know?”
The man glanced at the angel and then back down at his hand on the filing cabinet, and then he slowly pulled the drawer open.
What he saw was hard to describe. Instead of files, it was like peering down into a movie or some kind of virtual reality. He saw himself as a kid in one scene, and then in his 20’s, and 30’s, and 40’s. He also saw himself just a couple of days before he showed up in his ethereal place.
Wide-eyed, the man watched the scenes play out and noticed in each scene, something amazing was occurring to that younger version of himself.
He leaned in closer and watched himself having amazing adventures and exploring exciting opportunities. His relationships seemed happier and he was surrounded by more material wealth and prosperity.
Confused, he quickly jerked his head to the side and glared at the angel. “What is this all about? I don’t understand. I didn’t have those experiences! I wasn’t laughing all the time with my wife. My kids and I don’t have that kind of relationship. And I certainly didn’t travel like that, or ever have that kind of money. Why is this in here?”
The angel smiled compassionately. “These are the wishes God was ready to provide you, the moment you asked for them. They belonged to you and would have filled your soul with love and joy. The only catch is that you must sincerely ask for these wishes to enter your life, and you never did. You allowed fear to convince you this was not possible, rather than relying on your faith.”
The man peered back down into the cabinet. His head lowered and he began to weep.
What’s the morale of this story?
1. Lead by faith, not fear.
2. Ask for what you want and believe you will receive it, or something better.
3. Play all out while you are alive! There is no use tip toeing through life so you can arrive safely at death. Take chances, dream BIG, and make it a habit to expand your comfort zone.
There have been many times where I wanted to ask for something, say something to someone, or take a chance and go in a new direction…but I didn’t. We have a word for that. “Regret.”
Internet marketers call it FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).
However, there have also been many times where I did take a chance, asked for what I wanted, or relied on my faith to get me through…and it did!
Thus, I implore you to go confidently in the direction of your dreams because there is a cabinet full of wishes that God is excitedly waiting to rain upon you.
You just have to believe and keep asking and you will receive!
One of the wishes I asked God for was to bring about my favorite motivational speakers and mentors for two days of coaching, inspiration, and laughter.
God granted my wish!
The Legend Summit begins tomorrow.
I’d love for you to join me and we can experience more dreams coming true, together!
Thanks for reading…
Tim Shurr