Abraham Lincoln, Oprah, Steve Jobs, Einstein, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney... we all know the list. That inspiring catalog of exceptional human beings who have failed, sometimes repeatedly, but never gave up. People who flourished despite immense hardship. People who emanate the qualities we endlessly try to plant inside ourselves and secretly beseech to grow. 

I hesitate,
watching as you empty a packet of raw sugar
into your black coffee.
Our silence is broken
as your spoon slowly twirls against the glass.
The sugar disintegrates.
You briefly flash me a smile as you grab another packet. 

You think I’m judging you. 

But all I’m thinking about is asking you
this one question.

     When I hear stories like the one I am about to share with you, I feel deeply inspired. It reminds of something my grandfather once told me that changed my life. I was in my early twenties, working two jobs and going to school full-time. I had made peace with the fact that life was hard and to accomplish anything, I needed to put my head to the grindstone.
 
But I was sick. A lot. And exhausted.
 
And then my grandfather put his hand on my shoulder and said as a matter-of-fact,

​“Jillian, they’ve given the job to someone else.”

I’m not really sure what happened in the moments following; all I could feel was my heart roaring in protest as my entire life became blurry at the edges. The weight of it all caused my head to drop suddenly into the palms of my hands while I reminded myself to breathe. I hear her frustrated sigh through the speakers of my computer, followed by concerned pleadings to “say something”.