Sometimes, I'll do things for the story.
I'll stay up a little later, try something new, take the trip, give it a shot, start the company, meet for lunch, or make a little noise because if nothing else, I'll get a great story.
Stories form the bedrock of many of my speeches and presentations and I think that stories - for all of us - help us learn and connect to one another.
Take a look at what my good pal James Robilotta has to say about stories. Clearly, he's out there not just trying to find stories, but to make them.
And that should be the goal - to create our own stories in which we're deeply embedded. Stories where we learn, fail, succeed, try, laugh, hurt, soar, crawl, taste, love, lose, and give.
This life has more for you than telling someone else's story, living up to the expectations and script others would like to deal you. Instead of being content with watching the story someone else prescribes for you, I bet you'll find unparalleled joy when you dare to create your own story.
And when you do, you'll be equipped with memories, a kind of proof that can't be taken away. Stories are the personalized trophies that no one can emulate, bestowed upon us once we're willing to play a critical position in the game of very life.
And once you get to do that, riding the bench as a spectator will never be good enough.