George Bailey, you really had a wonderful life!

Our family followed a long-standing tradition on Christmas
night and watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I was struck for the first time that
the movie is really a better fit to watch on New Year’s night. Its message
seems much better suited for being thankful for what you have and setting sites
on the coming year to do better, get thinner, run faster, get richer, etc.

This used to be a pretty difficult movie for me to watch. I
felt like I WAS George Bailey. I was the brother who was stuck in the family
business while the rest of my family and friends got to chase their dreams. I
was blind to the impact I was making every day because I was so enamored with
some false promise of greener grass on the other side of the fence.

I’m convinced now, more than ever, that contentment comes
from doing what you are born to do and that has very little to do with
location. I used to think that my destiny was wrapped up in the place I was;
doing what I was doing. I now know better. Destiny is in your heart. Destiny is
that uniqueness that you bring to the table no matter where you may find
yourself.

So, as we approach this New Year, make a promise to yourself
to do something big. Stretch yourself. Reach out there and do something that
only you can do…that thing that you were born to do. And remember, your destiny
has very little to do with whether you are working at the Building and Loan or
building bridges and buildings in Venezuela. You are where you are.
Now make something happen.