A Destiny’s Calling

I want to share a life story, an intriguing journey, and a powerful transformation.  I now understand and appreciate grassroots and the old saying “one should never forget where they came from.”  As a small-town country boy from Pleasureville / Defoe, Kentucky growing up on a dairy farm, I never dreamed I would step into a destiny’s calling to launch a brand new business.  No, I am not going to run for Mayor of Pleasureville and create a new hit reality TV series – although the ideal has crossed my mind.  Now that could be quite entertaining and Pleasureville could definitely use a little excitement these days for sure!  Actually, I am launching a professional life and business coaching, inspirational speaking business.

To be honest, I don’t even like to call this a business but quite simply a call to serve and make a difference in people’s lives.  What created this business is not anything that I did in my own human willpower or intelligence, only life’s journey, experiences, situations, challenges, and struggles along with a hunger and willingness to surrender to “what is” in life to create something new.  As I sit and ponder, reflect on this message, it is not only the last eighteen months of an intriguing journey filled with the good, the bad, and the ugly but one that started when I showed up on the planet on March 23, 1976.  The biggest discovery over 43 years of living is this – that life has given me exactly what I needed at any moment (good, bad, and ugly) to lead me closer to my destiny calling or not.  What do I mean by not?  I have a crucial choice in life every moment including should I say when a baseball bat smacks me in the face with gut-wrenching situations and challenges.  Quite simply it is Live or Die.  It is choosing to Live and grow to become the best possible version of myself to give out to the others or Die a slow death in pain, suffering, negativity, and toxicity that robs me of peace and living my best and fulfilling life now.  This greatly impacts how I show up in relationships, family, career, community, and the world to contribute my gifts, talents, passions, values, and purpose to humanity. 

I want to take you to this moment in the picture of a Friday morning run starting out at East Illinois Street in Chicago before attending the last core course (Process) in the Co-Active Coaching Certification program for the weekend.   Of course as I exit the building where I am staying and start the run, I am feeling knees aching, tight back, and a negative self – talk of it would have been so much easier to stay in bed for an extra thirty minutes before snapping out of it and reminding myself I am choosing health right now.  Then, I start observing the environment – the beautiful city of Chicago, it’s impeccable building architectures, some construction crews, people walking, driving to work, of course, heads buried in their cell phones clueless what’s going on around them, and others out torturing themselves for this thing called health and well – being .  Then I look up to see the dark, thick, raging clouds in the sky as I am about a three-quarter of a mile into the run when I arrive at Navy Pier and immediately see the sun rising through and in between the clouds.  I stop for a moment to catch a few photos and in an instance realize isn’t this a perfect metaphor of life’s journey.  Although there are moments when there are thick, dark, raging clouds and storms in life, the sun with its glorious rays of light still rises each and every day and shines bright no matter what.  As I soak up this moment, I notice a zinging, pulsing energy through every cell in my body as the blood pumps fiercely and a high sense of clarity and intended purpose.  I carry on with the run so in tune with this powerful, transformative moment that nature brought forth.  As I approach the end of the Pier after continuing to watch this beautiful, spectacular sunrise through the clouds, I notice the glistening, beams of light on the water and intense feeling as though I could just start running on the water path to the sun and rise higher with it. 

Suddenly, I feel a strong connection to the 8-ton anchor from the USS Chicago at the end of Navy Pier, a staple in American naval fleet history that served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam wars before being dismantled in 1984. The anchor went through restoration by a noble and honorable group of former sailors that reconnected through social media in 2012. I realize a deep connection to liberation, restoration, and alignment to a destiny’s calling of something much bigger than anything I could imagine in my life’s journey by a calling to simply serve humanity.  What you don’t see at this moment is the dark, desperate spot I found myself in just 18 months ago faced with a life turned upside down and a crisis with unfortunate circumstances and situations and a soul longing for warmth, light, and restoration.  In this journey over the last 18 months, I choose to take radical action to end a 20 year marriage, discover my true self and purpose that has always been there calling but blocked by all the clutter and stories I used to fill life up that I made mean so much and only left a bankrupt soul.  Additionally in the 18 months, a call to action to take on complete undoing and a de-attachment, cleansing within myself of all these things externally such as material possessions, toxic relationships and situations, and anything, anyone that I allow to have power and control over my life.  What’s your soul longing for at this moment?  

With much gratitude and love,

Derrick