The motivation to do something with yourself comes from too many forced early mornings. It’s that dark sky at 4:30 a.m and the itchy, tired eyes. Wandering down the silent city street to a job you never wanted anyway. You have an epiphany, that is so heavy and so scary, that it lights a fire inside of you. 

It’s knowing that every week of your life will be just like this. Up early, 5 days a week, into a low-paying, hateful job. Clock watching and tired. Worn out legs and feet, and back, and brain…Waiting for friday afternoon to come so you can get drunk for two days with your friends. Fellow driftwood on a river to nowhere. Every week, year after year. And that will be your life’s story. An unoriginal book.

It’s that list of names you keep seeing and you just want to be on it. 

That’s all it takes to make you pull an “all nighter”, working your fingers to the bone, using whatever god given talents you have, sending out countless letters through the mail, giving god a smirk.  You want a “get out of jail free” card for good behavior. 

I just hope you don’t know what I’m talking about. 

The motivation to do something with your life is fear.