I have to pinch myself sometimes to be reminded that I just could be the luckiest man alive on planet earth.

I live in a democratically run country. I have freedom of religion. I have an abundance of food, the ability to earn as much money as I want, and plenty of opportunity at my disposal.

I can drive what I want and where I want. I can travel freely throughout the world. There are no limitations placed upon me and my dreams. I am loved by my family and my friends – even when I make mistakes.

I can set goals. I can make plans. I can sip lattes, read books, listen to music, watch films,  swim in the ocean, paddle up a river, climb a mountain, and breathe in the fresh air. To do these I don’t ever have to ask anyone’s permission.

I can tap into the latest technology available and communicate with my friends in an instant – whether they live in Peru, Panama, Paris or Portugal.

But with all that freedom I am ruled by one law – the law of kindness. And that law states that the more that I get the more responsible I need to be when it comes to giving.

Get more? Give more!

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The next generation that we have influenced will unveil clear evidence as to how we have lived our lives, unless of course there is divine intervention.

However, as wise as King Solomon was, who lived long before Christ, there were areas in his life where he lived like a fool. And the resulting next generation revealed that fact. The kingdom that he had built, as the richest and wisest man on planet earth in his time – at his departure – was swiftly ripped from the hands of his family through the foolishness displayed by his heir, and the fruit of the foolish things that he himself did throughout his ‘wise’ years.

A tree is always evidenced by the fruit it bears. And if we choose to live foolishly or wisely – the next generation will bring forth the fruit of our lives.

Be aware that our decisions impact the generations. Our values determine the paths of our future inheritance. We cannot stand idly by living as we wish without it having ramifications into the future.

If we sow wild oats we will reap the devastating implications from such choices. If we sow good crops, then we and our heritage will flourish from such a planting.

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Every one of us has been given certain abilities. But in life, if we are to ever stand above the crowd, we must take those abilities and develop them if we’re ever going to make a significant contribution to the world in which we live.

I must admit that I have come across individuals more talented, more intelligent, more handsome, more connected, more capable, more financial, more able than myself who have failed to reach their full potential, because they have never fully developed or even used those abilities to benefit others.

And yet I have observed others who lack the charisma, the charm, the opportunity, and all the things that one would consider necessary to live an influential life, and yet they have soared. They have turned their limited abilities, in the eyes of others, into what I would call ‘poss-abilities’.

And what is required to take the ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary?

Here are just a few courageous qualities that I have identified in those who live lives filled with ‘poss-ability’.

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I read this obituary the other day that brought a smile to my face. How good would it be to die, and in your death you actually inspire those who are living.

Here is one example of exactly that…

For a late starter, the career of award-winning Hollywood producer David Brown took an extraordinarily successful course. The former journalist produced some major hits that not only became classics, but also made him – and his sometimes employer 20th Century Fox – plenty of money. They included Jaws, The Sting, Chocolat, A Few Good Men and Driving Miss Daisy.

He was a partner with Richard Zanuck in the early 1970s – when they produced the blockbusters Jaws, The Verdict and Cocoon – before Brown started his own career as a film and theatrical producer.

Brown was still producing movies such as Chocolat well into his 80s, including supervising filming on location.

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‘See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings] of Christ (the Messiah).’ Colossians 2:8 (Amplified)

And yet I love to study the philosophers of the ages and their writings – whether it be Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Demosthenes, Homer, Hippocrates, Aeschines, Plutarch, Montaigne, Machiavelli, Aurelius, Seneca, Spinoza, Hegel, Kant, Kierkegaard, Bacon, Nietzsche, Emerson, Thoreau amongst many others.

But if you allow yourself to be swayed wholeheartedly by any of these great writers and thinkers, without rightly dividing it against truth, then you could possibly find yourself in the company of those who have yielded to a mindset that is warped, and at times misguided.

When I spend time in the company of great thinkers I make sure that my internal moral and spiritual compass is set – so that I can chew on what is good, that builds, that adds to my life, and which makes me a better contributor to my society and my family. The rest I simply spit out or put aside for another time.

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