There I used to be, consuming cereal and watching a CNN documentary about Kobe Bryant—sure, I combine deep life reflection with Raisin Bran—when his previous speech trainer mentioned one thing that made me pause mid-chew. He described Kobe’s lifestyle as giving every thing—coronary heart, soul, and physique—to his craft. No midway. Simply all in.
I sat there pondering, “Sure! That’s it!” That’s the very factor I attempt to convey to my college students in school, often whereas making wild arm gestures and unintentionally knocking over a marker cup. I imagine in that philosophy with each fiber of my chalk-dusted being.
Excessive Danger, Deep Roots
However right here’s the deal: it’s additionally terrifying.
This concept of going all in in your calling—it sounds noble and thrilling and worthy of a motivational poster—however the reality is, it’s a bet. A high-stakes, heart-first type of gamble. Particularly at this time.
I imply, the traditional world completely backed this concept. Aristotle referred to as it arete—excellence as a lifestyle. The Stoics preached about inside energy, Japanese samurai gave us Bushidō, and each jazz musician who ever improvised their option to bliss is aware of the facility of move. Even athletes speak about that magical zone the place time melts away and it’s simply you, the court docket, the ball, and that buzzing sense of rightness.
Trendy Metrics vs. Timeless Ardour
However our fashionable world? Eh, not a lot. Right now, we worth your output. Your metrics. Your monetization plan. It’s like we collectively changed ardour with efficiency indicators.
Don’t get me mistaken—I’m not in opposition to paying the payments. I get pleasure from meals, shelter, and the occasional streaming service. However if you happen to’re a teenager with a dream that doesn’t include a subscription mannequin or an app-based hustle plan? Welcome to what I name “existential whiplash.”
You’re instructed, “Comply with your bliss!” and “Dwell with objective!” However the subsequent second somebody’s asking, “Yeah, however how will you monetize that?”
This contradiction is exhausting. And it will get inside your head. You begin to assume, “Perhaps I’m mistaken to need this. Perhaps I ought to simply do one thing safer. Perhaps desires are for individuals with belief funds.”
However right here’s the place I get somewhat loud in school—sure, I stand on chairs often—and say: No. Your dream isn’t a legal responsibility.
It’s a pulse. A heartbeat. A spark. And also you owe it to your self to discover it—even when it’s onerous.
Now, I gained’t sugarcoat this: you’ll be able to throw your entire self into one thing and never get the rewards you hoped for. I’ve lived that. I’ve made documentaries that reached small audiences. I’ve written issues I assumed would change the world and heard nothing however crickets. I’ve constructed packages that vanished when the grant cash dried up.
However right here’s the bizarre factor: I nonetheless wouldn’t commerce it. As a result of within the pursuit—sure, even within the flops—I discovered one thing important.
The Present of Move and Presence
Move. Objective. Connection.
After I was filming at daybreak in a mountain village within the Philippines, or listening—actually listening—to a pupil battle their manner into their voice, I wasn’t fascinated with success. I used to be there. Totally. Mindfully. There’s nothing else prefer it.
These moments are why we do the dangerous factor. As a result of we’re not robots. We’re not spreadsheets. We’re meaning-makers. And after we pursue one thing with full consideration and intention, we faucet into one thing sacred.
Nonetheless, let’s be actual. In our society, even mindfulness has been commodified. There’s a subscription for calm. A model for stillness. A marketplace for minimalism. If I sound cynical, it’s as a result of I’ve watched so a lot of my college students get talked out of their deepest truths by the crushing logic of “practicality.”
Redefining Success
So, what will we do? How will we maintain on to our inside compass when the GPS retains yelling “Recalculate!” towards a safer, extra worthwhile life?
I feel it comes all the way down to redefining what “success” actually means.
I inform my college students: don’t measure your life by likes, views, and even revenue (though, sure, be sure to eat). Measure it by the depth of your expertise. By the dangers you had been keen to take. By the individuals you helped. By the moments you felt alive and grounded in one thing actual.
A Quiet Life Can Nonetheless Be Epic
As a result of that’s what makes a life price residing. Not perfection. Not applause. However presence.
You possibly can dwell a small-looking life with an unlimited inside world. You possibly can chase one thing significant and never be well-known. You possibly can train or paint or write or code or dance or construct with no need to “go viral” to matter.
Sure, there are trade-offs. Consider me, I’ve wrestled with them. I’ve had months the place I puzzled if I made a mistake, if I’d be higher off in a extra steady profession. I’ve requested myself whether or not it’s egocentric to maintain chasing concepts once I may very well be saving for retirement as a substitute.
However then I bear in mind: a life with out desires, with out inventive threat, with out vulnerability? That might break me sooner than any unpaid bill.
This Is the Present (and the Gamble)
To the dreamers studying this—particularly the younger ones, or the older ones simply starting once more—I wish to say this:
Don’t let the world’s cynicism shrink your imaginative and prescient. Keep conscious, not simply in meditation, however in the way you select—the way you spend your time, your power, your consideration. Dwell with full consciousness, even when it’s onerous. Particularly when it’s onerous.
As a result of that’s the reward of conscious residing. Not fixed calm or peace—however full contact with actuality. The wonder and the concern. The creativity and the chaos. The danger and the reward.
Present Up Anyway
And perhaps, simply perhaps, that’s the purpose. That life isn’t about profitable. It’s about displaying up absolutely, coronary heart, soul, and physique. Identical to Kobe. Identical to all of us attempting to do that factor with braveness.
I’m not indispensable. I’m not a guru. I’m only a man who nonetheless will get goosebumps when a pupil discovers one thing actual inside themselves. I’ve lived lengthy sufficient to know desires don’t all the time repay, however they all the time train you one thing important—about who you might be and what you care about.
And for me, that has all the time been sufficient.
About Tony Collins
Tony Collins, EdD, MFA is a documentary filmmaker, trainer, musician, author, and guide with forty years of expertise. His work explores inventive expression, scholarly rigor, and nonfiction storytelling throughout the USA, Central America, Asia, and the UAE. In 2025, he’s self-publishing Artistic Scholarship: Rethinking Analysis in Movie and New Media on Amazon, difficult conventional educational evaluation in movie and new media. Web site: anthonycollinsfilm.com