Kevin lit up the room like a giant ball of fire.
Best looking kid in the school.
A mischievous grin. Joy that flowed out of every pore in his body.
So much talent.
As much as I admired him, as a kid in little old New Zealand, growing up, I felt pretty small around him.
Insecure even.
There was no way I could compete.
He was the most talented and charismatic kid that I’ve ever met…
I wished so much to be like Kevin…
But this, my friends, is a cautionary tale.
For as gifted and hard-working as Kevin was… something in his life never clicked…
Kevin had one problem only.
He wanted to be friends with EVERYONE.
Like a happy little puppy who naturally assumes everyone thinks he’s cute.
Worse still…
Kevin was deeply religious, and he followed the commandment to love thy neighbor with every beat of his heart.
Even if that neighbor regularly stole the checks from their family mailbox…
Kevin believed that he had been put here on this earth to serve others, everyone, all the time.
After High School
When we all finished high school, the vast majority of us left town and went off to college, or bought a ticket to Europe and decided to explore the world.
Not Kevin…
The most talented cat in all the world, who could have been a football sensation, or a famous musician, or a Rhodes scholar.
He remained…
In the same town.
With the same old people.
Having the same old conversations.
I think, looking back on it now, not leaving town… that was what killed Kevin.
The talent that he had.
The life he knew he was supposed to have.
The adventures that lay before him, eternally unexplored.
They burned a hole in Kevin’s soul.
The Last Time I Saw Him
When I met him at our high school reunion, years later, I did not recognize him.
He was overweight. Ill-kept. No longer playing his music.
He was a pale shadow of the kid I once knew.
That was the last time I saw him.
Thinking Back Now
I think Kevin needed more than talent.
He needed people.
Good, brave, imperfect, broken but eternally optimistic people.
The kind of folk who believe you should keep stretching for your best until your very last day.
Sadly, Kevin could not outgrow his small-minded environment.
No one can.
The number one determinant of your success and fulfilment in life, are the people that you choose to surround yourself with.
My old mate Kevin chose people who needed him to stay small.
I believe I chose differently.
I believe you should, too.
There’s nothing more important than bravely saying NO to the people who will hold you back.
And YES to the people who will call you forward into the greatness that exists inside of your heart.
If this message resonates.
Be brave.
I am cheering you on.
Walk with me if you wish.
Geoff
P:S: Reply or comment “PEOPLE” if you want to know how we are using social media to surround ourselves with life-giving people.