Who Were You Before Someone Else’s Story Defined You?
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My father expected perfection.
As I get older (I’m 49 in a few weeks), memories from childhood come screaming into my head with crystal clear clarity at the most random times.
Things I haven’t thought of since perhaps they occurred.
A significant theme in these flashbacks is perfection:
The expectation of, and my striving for.
A 97 out of 100 wasn’t good enough.
I fell short of my full potential.
More. More. More.
My life was a sprint to perfection, and I was too young to see that I was destroying my inherent wholeness with every footfall toward the elusive perfection.
I thought I was doing what needed to be done to be good enough for my father.
A war I still fight to this day, but as of late, I’m winning more and more battles.
I think about this Charles Bukowski quote,
“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?”
Who were you before someone told you:
“You’re a disappointment.”
“You’re not good enough.”
“You need to be perfect.”
“You’re not creative.”
“You’ll never be…”
The truth is this:
You’re not here to chase the expectations of others or fulfill their unfulfilled dreams for them.
You’re here to be yourself.
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I’m a Reinvention Architect & Mindset Coach and I work 1:1 with my clients to help them re-architect the life of their dreams.
My book, “Blank Canvas, How I Reinvented My Life After Prison” is available on Amazon.
In the same vein as The Alchemist, Blank Canvas is a guidebook for living an extraordinary life disguised as a beautiful story.
Only in this case, the story is true.
James Altucher, best-selling author of Skip the Line, Choose Yourself and Reinvent Yourself had this to say about “Blank Canvas.”
“Craig has lived a story NOBODY would ever want to live. I was riveted to each page because I kept asking myself, “How would I handle this?” and I didn’t know the answers. Craig takes us into hell, and then we ride with him on the journey back. Great story, great writing, great human being.”
