Raise the Bar High, Then Raise it Again

“Settlin’”

by Sugarland

Fifteen minutes left to throw me together
For mister right now, not mister forever
Don’t know why I even try when I know how it ends
Looking like another “maybe we could be friends”
I’ve been leaving it up to fate
It’s my life so it’s mine to make

I ain’t settling for just getting by
I’ve had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain’t enough this time
I ain’t settling for anything less than everything, yeah

With some good red wine and my brand new shoes
Gonna dance a blue streak around my living room
Take a chance on love and try how it feels
With my heart wide open now you know I will
Find what it means to be the girl
Who changed her mind and changed her world….

Great lyrics, right?  Amazing lyrics!  The kind of lyrics that make you want to fight hell with a water gun.The song preached is upbeat sermon from the radio speakers while my husband and I took a ride last night.  He was making a delivery for his offline company.  It was bags of something or another (mortar, maybe) for a home  Domestic Castle that’s being built created.  Oh, Mary, gentle Mother of God….this place was unbelievable.

Okay, imagine the most amazing scenery in the world - beautiful hills and trees of every kind as far as the eyes can see.  The couple even has a small lake on their property - with a gazebo overlooking it, of course.  (The gazebo’s bigger than some houses I’ve seen.)  A brick walkway surrounds the large house Domestic Castle, with flower beds with breathtaking flowers and ferns.  Even the ferns seemed bigger than some houses.  Cats could get lost in these ferns and not be seen for days.

Some people are overtaken by a green eyed monster when they see someone else with a large piece of life’s pie. This place, in particular, would have destroyed a jealous-type.  There’d have been nothing of them to even take to the er - they’d just crumble amongst the monstrous ferns.

I get excited, though. It reminds you how amazing life’s pie can be! For one thing, the lady is super nice, so I’m thrilled for her.  Besides, she’s a pet lover, so I’m especially happy for her lot in life.  She has a gorgeous dog and several beautiful cats to share in the wealth.  For another thing, when you see something like this, it makes you realize exactly where hard work and dedication can carry you.

On the drive back home, it occurred to me.  This is exactly the sort of place that all of our young people should see. Irregardless of their age(s), they should be shown something this magnificent.  I wished that our daughters had been with us.  I would have told them to create a mental image of this amazing place and to keep the image with them always.  The image could serve as a prod when they began to “settle” in life.  When they were tempted to slide the bar a little bit down rather than leave it high.  Sometimes stretching isn’t so fun, and we want the bar to come to us rather than stretching ourselves to meet it.  That might be comfortable for the moment, but it won’t lead to a comfortable life.

I’d have asked them if they’d want to live life with this view one day.  After the “Duh’s,” I would have asked them, “What do you think it would take to get here?”

• Hard work.  That’s probably a given, but it’s worth repeating.  If you want to have the sort of success in life that would allow you to create your own Heaven on earth - you’d better be willing to work hard.  Working hard means doing, sometimes, unpleasant things when you’d rather be doing something else.  It means making sure your boss knows that you’ll not only work extra hours when called upon, but you’ll do it willingly and happily.  It means that, when she calls you to come in at the last minute, you make her feel like she just did you a favor not a disservice.  It means getting out of your comfort zone and making things happen - not waiting for them to happen.
• Smart Work.  Hard work is fine and good - and oh so commendable.  But if it’s dumb work - it’ll still be dumb work, no matter how hard you work at it.  “There’s no such thing as dumb work!,”  some may yell.  (Oh, yeah, I see the e-mails coming.)  But, there is, most definitely, such a thing!  Think about it like this:  If Jeffery B. works at the Video Vault for $6.00 an hour, without benefits - when Jeffrey B. could be working someplace else for $12.00 an hour, with benefits…  Jeff’s working dumb, not smart.  And you know, as well as I do, that there are people who’d rather stay at a lower paying job than to make the effort to get a better one.  Whether it’s fear of rejection, fear of an interview, fear of change, or fear of having to lose more of their free time - you can see a Jeff just about everywhere you look.  Except, of course, in a magnificent new house overlooking it’s own lake.  With ferns that weigh more than the Olsen twins.   There won’t be any Jeff’s there.

Maybe we should all drive our kids (and ourselves, for that matter) through the swankiest neighborhoods in town.  If they’re males, a visit to a car lot might make an even bigger impression.  But, make no mistake about it, an impression will be made.

I know as well as anyone that material things aren’t what’s most important in life.  Good health, a happy family, lots of laughter, pets you love, and a Starbucks nearby - that’s true wealth.  All I’m saying is, if you can have all of that AND the ferns, you’d be a fool not to plan your work and then work your plan.  Like the song says, it’s all about settling or not settling.

I ain’t settling for just getting by
I’ve had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain’t enough this time
I ain’t settling for anything less than everything……

You sing it, girl!

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