A person who wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it. -Don Miller
If you Google it, you will find many different literary definitions that include things like the setting, characters, plot, conflict, and resolution.
But Don Miller, who wrote A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, sums it up in one sentence.
A character who wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
One thing you will find in common with Miller’s definition and the other “literary correct” definitions is CONFLICT. Conflict is always part of the story.
No conflict. No story.
But we’re not talking only about writing a book or a short story. We are talking about LIFE.
You’re LIFE is a story. You are writing it everyday.
New York Times best-seller, Purpose Driven Life, has sold over 30 million copies. It’s been on the best-seller list for five years. Great book.
Chapter One, page one, the first sentence in the book reads…
It’s not about you.
Miller goes on to say that a story is not only about a character who wants something and is willing to overcome conflict to get it….but an EPIC story includes SACRIFICE. Maybe even a life or death situation.
Think about your favorite movies and books. You’ll find all these things. Look at Rocky! It’s all there.
But living a better story is not necessarily about success.
Being successful and fulfilling your life’s purpose are not at all the same thing.
Pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, working hard and being successful is a great story. But it’s not a NECESSARY requirement and NOT what we are talking about here.
Living a Better Story is about INTENTIONAL living.
It’s about doing things intentionally to make a difference. It’s about making PLANS to serve others. Finding ways to intentionally make others happy.
It’s about building adventure into your life. Making plans to explore and try new things:
Run that first 5K. Attempt that first triathlon. Go rock climbing. Finding a mountain to climb. To stretch yourself physically.
Learn a new language. Take a course at the community college. Read a new book each month. To stretch yourself mentally.
How about volunteering at the animal shelter, or a mentoring project, reading at a local school. To open up emotionally.
Or pour yourself into you the lives of your kids. Build a legacy that will impact generations.
What if you would love your spouse sacrificially beyond what the world around you expects? What would it change?
Make a difference. On purpose. Intentionally. Not by accident.
It’s not letting life happen TO you, but by design, you DOING life.
Not WATCHING your story unfold, but WRITING it out, intentionally.
That’s…Living a Better Story.
