Motivation Monday: Who Are You?

There are moments in every life when true change occurs

Moments when the road winds
When battle lines are crossed
When the heart breaks

Moments when you realize that life is not what you expected it was going to be
When you’re no longer able to maintain the facade you’ve created
When inside of you, the vulnerable and the authentic
Accidentally intersect

Many of you who have been to my lectures have heard me ask the question, “Who are you?”

If you had permission to be who you truly are
What would you look like?
Who are you when you lay down your weapons?
Who are you when no one is watching?
Who are you in the unguarded moments?

If you’ve ever wondered about all the different and possible answers that exist, here’s something interesting. It’s a string of pearls fished out of the Denver Public Library by Freddy Bosco. This list is made up entirely of book titles taken from the card catalog…book titles that begin with the word “You.”

Happy reading!

You all want something. You Americans. You among the stars.

You are as young as your spine. You are born to victory. You are earnestly requested to meet.

You are extraordinary. You are happy. You are my friends.

You are never alone. You are not the target. You are what you eat.

You are younger than you think. You be the judge. You broke my dream.

You can always tell a fisherman. You can be a better cook than mama ever was. You can be a plumber.

You can be happily married. You can be healed. You can become the person you want to be.

You can build your own sailboat. You can change the world. You can communicate with the unseen world.

You can conquer. You can cope. You can die laughing.

You can do anything with crepes. You can do it. You can do it from a wheelchair.

You can fight for your life. You can find God. You can fix it.

You can get there from here. You can get what you want if you find it within yourself. You can have what you say.

You can learn to fly. You can live cheaply in the Canaries. You can live longer than you think.

You can make your own gloves. You can master life. You can own a business.

You can see a lot standing under a flare in the Republic of Vietnam. You can start all over. You can stop.

You can survive any financial disaster. You can train your cat. You can vote.

You can win. You can win a scholarship. You can wreck it.

You can’t be an immigrant twice. You can’t beat the hours. You can’t catch me.

You can’t do business with Hitler. You can’t eat magnolias. You can’t eat peanuts in church.

You can’t have your kayak and heat it. You can’t make me if I don’t want to. You can’t pet a possum.

You can’t steal first base. You can’t tell a man by the song he sings. You can’t turn the clock back.

You come, too. You could live if they let you. You could look it up.

You go your way. You got to live. You got to stay happy.

You know I can’t hear you when the water’s running. You learn by living. You live as you breathe.

You may cross examine. You may safely graze. You must break out sometimes.

You must relax. You must see Canada. You mustn’t weep, it’s Yom Tov.

You need help, Charlie Brown. You need never walk alone. You never can tell.

You only live twice. You read to me, I’ll read to you. You rolling river.

You shall be as gods. You should start sooner. You still can’t eat Mt. Rainier.

You, the jury. You, the person you want to be. You, too, are a believer.

You touched me. You wore the big shoe. You were the princess last time.

You will go to the moon. You will live under the sea. You will never be the same.

You will survive your death.