You have to at LEAST TRY!
That will be my future Ted-X talk in 2026. Note: It’s not set up but I’m already visualizing me speaking on this subject.
Last night, my son pulled up an old YouTube video of me preaching in Mexico in Spanish. It was 2017.
I drove my 1999 Green Mazda B2500 stick-shift truck to Presidio, Texas. I had bought it a few months earlier and had to learn to drive stick!
You have to at least try.
I had been practicing my Spanish for a while using Rosetta Stone. I wasn’t as dedicated as I should have been. I stayed with the preacher there, and we practiced my sermon every day for almost a week. One sermon had to be turned into two sermons because I was slow speaking.
The moment arrived! It was time for me to Chase the Lion. That was the title of my sermon. That came from a book I read called “Chase the Lion.” Add that book to your library.
Two sermons later, I was done speaking in Spanish. I quit. I drove 12 plus hours home in a funk. I even wrestled down a person at a Whataburger who was about to potentially hurt someone (that’s another post).
I felt like I had failed. In hindsight, I framed that moment the wrong way. I was in the GAP and not the GAIN as Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan talk in their book “The Gap and the Gain.”
I should have said to myself, “WOW, you just drove across country and did something you’ve never done before. If you can do that, imagine what could be done if you continue!” Instead, I just STOPPED. Completely stopped.
I was embarrassed. Good thing only a few people heard those sermons. Fast forward to 2025. My sister texts me the YouTube video of my sermon! NNNNOOOOOO….
I had no idea they had recorded it. It was available for all to see. I listened to a portion of it last night. We all laughed. But to me, it didn’t sound half bad! Looking back 9 years, I’m a different person.
What if we could at least try?
What if we signed up for that Co-hort?
What if we started that podcast?
What if we started writing that book?
What if we started that business?
What if we took time to read the Bible?
What if we signed up for that race?
We have to at least try. When we do, we may actually surprise ourselves in what can be done. Here’s the thing: Life is short, and Life is long. Maybe you haven’t been giving things a shot. Here’s the good news. You still have time.
Are you willing to at least give it a shot? Your future self will thank you.
P.S. Below are the two sermons in Spanish! God Bless.
