The picture above is extremely meaningful to me.
It is a simple selfie of my daughter, Zoe and I, but what is most important about it is what you cannot see.
Zoe and I have been on so many adventures together as she was growing up and we have had some great memories.
We took a trip this week to Moab, Utah and it was seriously incredible.
However, there were a few details about this trip that made it different than any we have ever been on.
First of all, she is an adult and has her own life now.
I don’t see her as much as I did when she was younger and not near as much as I would like.
So, this trip was a nice couple days that I had her to myself and we were both able to relax.
We are also both reeling from some recent pain and in need of quiet positive healing.
There was no better place to go than to the red rock canyon walls of southern Utah.
We have both been there before and we usually go to Arches National Park to hike the “Fiery Furnace” (it is by far my favorite place to hike) and some other hiking and sightseeing.
However, the park was closed and we were forced to get creative.
We hiked to a different arch outside the park ironically named Corona Arch.
It was our first time there and it was beautiful.
Then we spent that evening and the next day finding mountain lakes close by and having a great time fishing, relaxing, and enjoying the warm weather.
We ate good food, laughed constantly, and enjoyed campfire and stargazing over a dark desert landscape at night.
Finally, we topped it off with a white water rafting trip on the last day before coming home.
This all would have been perfect as it was, but what made it even more amazing is that I planned this trip at the last minute and I had almost no camping gear because I left most of it when I divorced.
I have amazing freedom now to take time and also spend money on things I enjoy.
I bought almost all new camping gear and actually bought the stuff I wanted instead of being forced to get the cheapest thing that works or going without.
These probably seem like small things, but those little differences are what I have been working toward for so long.
They don’t just represent things and food and experiences to me.
They represent work, sweat, and tears.
They are the result of countless nights working in my office after work when I wanted to just eat dinner and relax.
They signify the college football games and weekend trips I didn’t go on because I needed to work extra to have capital for my business or be at an event where I was leveling up my mindset and marketing skills.
They are manifestations of me putting my head down and pushing through activities that were hard, and uncomfortable.
They show the upside of continuing on when people rolled their eyes at me, told me why it wouldn’t work, or said nothing and talked about how foolish I am to my family after I left the room.
They are the reward of so much time and sacrifice pushing to do something more than the minimum.
I know if you are reading this, maybe you are going through that now.
Perhaps, everyone you know has turned against you.
Maybe, you don’t know how you’re going to even pay your bills or when you might possibly catch a break.
I’m not saying we had the same experience at all, but I do know what it means to grind far beyond what I thought it would take in the beginning.
I know what it’s like to give up things and time with people I love in order to achieve what means most to me.
I remember being in the thick of it and wondering if it was ever going to get better, wondering if I would die before ever seeing the fruits of my labors.
Then, all of a sudden, almost like magic, things came together.
Freedom came to me so easily and quickly, I almost had to remember if it had even been that hard.
What I needed to learn was how to appreciate it.
I had to know that I wasn’t going to squander it when it came.
I had to expand my ability to have more and know that I was worthy and deserving of it.
Also, I had to learn and hone new skills.
I was terrible at everything I ever did the first time.
I only got better after being terrible and fixing the bad parts.
Are you in the grind right now?
Does it seem like you can’t even see when it’s going to get easier?
I don’t know how long it might take you.
Everyone’s journey is different.
I can tell you this: every trial, challenge, and obstacle taught me a lesson I needed to learn to get here.
Some of them, I had to go through more than once to finally figure it out.
Everything was already inside me.
I just had to pull it out and have the confidence and faith to execute on what I knew to be true.
Don’t give up.
A mentor once told me that I would not know I was about to break through to success even five minutes before it happened.
It’s true.
What if I had quit then?
What if you are five minutes from your big breakthrough?
Keep going.
You seriously won’t know until it happens.
If I described you in this post, just know, you inspire me.
You are my people and I love the struggle because of what you are becoming through it.
We need more people like you, so please don’t stop.
You are changing the world into a better place.
Thank you for reading.
Phillip Adams