THE CHARGED LIFE, the truly lived life, is not a routine existence in some quaint, picturesque village of safety and certainty. No, the life worth living is out there, in the wooded wilds of the unknown, on the craggy battlefields that test our wits and wills in the daily fights with our own demons.

It is found during the long onward slog through the storms and strife, when we hear only the whispers and taunts of foes and opponents stronger than we, on the ground where we are knocked sprawling and forced to face our own weaknesses, and on the mountaintops that we reach only because we pitted our every ounce of virtue, strength, character, and courage to keep climbing no matter the slings and arrows flung at our backs or the barriers thrown up before us.

It is only in the herculean quest for something more that life fills us with wisdom and meaning, but only after we have paid with our sweat and, at times, our tears.

It is in the marching on when we are tired and weak and fearful, and in the camaraderie of those fellow warriors we have striven with—our brothers and sisters and family and friends who cheered us on and toiled with us despite the messiness and apparent madness of it all.

It is out there on the path less traveled, an uncharted path chosen by each of us alone, an often meandering, overgrown path that leads only to another unpaved road or open field of opportunity, where we must strike out once more with the same hope for victory and transcendence.

It is out there when we have the guts to stand naked before the world as who we truly are, when we peer into the souls of those around us and finally see in them the image of the divine, that we plunge ourselves bravely and unconditionally into love that has no bottom or boundary.

It is out there, outside the confines of our comforts and the pleasures of our accumulations, beyond our architecture of the routine, that we slip the bonds of our limiting beliefs, soar magnificently above our own shortcomings, and express our highest selves.

It is out there, in a world rich with choice and challenge and fear and freedom, that your greatest gifts and adventures await you. Listen. It is out there that destiny calls. Be bold and ready yourself. It is time to charge once again.

From the book THE CHARGE by Brendon Burchard