One of my favorite stories is about a man. Now this man is walking down a path and finds an egg - an eagles egg. He takes this egg and puts it into the nest of a backyard hen. Pretty soon, the eagle hatches with the chicks and grows up with them. Now all his life that eagle did what the chickens did. He would poke around in the dirt looking for worms and insects to eat. He would fly a few feet into the air like chickens do. He’d cluck around. As time passed that eagle he grew very old.

And one day, he saw something above him. This thing it glided gracefully and majestically through the cloud. What’s that? The eagle says. Oh that? That’s an eagle, one chicken responds. He is the king of all birds, the master of the skies. But we belong to the ground, because we are just chickens. Don’t worry about him, you will never be that. And that eagle lived and died a chicken because that is what he thought he was.

This new year it’s time to take flight. You and me both know that you don’t belong where you are right now. You don’t belong with some of the people you’re around right now. You’ve got no business doing what you’re doing right now. You’re being a chicken when you were born an eagle.

So now the question is, how long’s it gonna take to make the decision? to make the shift? and show some courage, show some character (let me) that word character is funny. You know character is the ability to carry out a resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.

I’m gonna say that again because some of y’all might’ve missed it. Character is the ability to carry out a resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed. Are you gonna say you wanna wanna do something? Do it for two weeks and then quit like you did last year, like you did the year before last. You say you wanna lose weight, get in shape, get your business off the ground, get closer to god and then turn around and party, get lit, drink alcohol, eat like crap and continue to live below who you were created to be there by committing the greatest sin known to man, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I’m not – i’m not religious, but i’m going to take you to church, watch this: See the word sin comes from the greek word “sin” used in archery. It means to miss your mark. The greatest sin in life is to miss your mark to not be who you were created to be, to be a chicken instead of an eagle.

I don’t know if you guys remember uhhh … Growing up the story of Icarus. You know a lot of people remember Icarus being this guy who had his wings made out of wax. His father cautioned him not to fly too high or the sun will melt your wings and what happened? it was Icarus’s arrogance that caused him to fly too high, sun melted his wings and [clap hands] boom, fell to the earth, dead. But that’s not the full story. No, no, no, you didn’t know there was more to it? see Icarus’s father also cautioned him against flying too low. He said don’t fly too close to the sea or your weight will cause you to plummet to the water.

See we all know not to be too arrogant, well most of us, but how many of us know not to be too humble, too meek, too timid, too shy, to safe. It is said that the greatest tragedy in life is not that people aim too high and miss, it is that people aim too low and hit.

I see a lot of people on Facebook, everywhere, Instagram, talking about the friend zone “haha” laughing. He’s in the friend zone. Look, the hover hand! but i don’t see too many people making jokes about the other zone, the comfort zone. Ain’t no memes about that, ain’t no jokes. You know why? because a lot of y’all are in there.

Well in this new year, let’s step out of our comfort zone. Fortune favors the bold and it is the cave that you fear. The cave that you fear that will hold the treasure that you desire. Forget a new year’s resolution. Forget it. Let’s make a new life resolution, to be fully an authentically you. I don’t know what dream you have, but i can guarantee you there’s somebody in the hospital right now praying begging god to have the opportunity that you have right now.

Don’t blow it.
It is time, it is time to go from mediocre to meteoric.
It is time to go from being counted out to being counted on.
It is time to fly like the eagle you are or do you want to continue to cluck with the chickens?