Figuring out what you are called to do in life is not an act of discovery. Most often, it is an act of recovery.

It’s an act of rescuing something from your past that you loved but you lost.

Finding your dream is usually a reunion, not a first date. A matter of bumping back into something you put down because life got too busy.

Why is that hard?

Why is that difficult?

Because recovery is hard.

My wife hurt her finger a few years ago. With a power drill. And she had to recover. For weeks, she had to go to physical therapy. She had to fight and squeeze and struggle with painful exercises.

And that was just a finger. She spent months ultimately wrestling that finger back. (Her x-ray is below. I will let you guess which one was hurt.)

We spent painful nights and hard days trying to help her get feeling back. And that was just a finger.

Will it be hard to recover your dream?

It will, oh it will. But know this, it is worth it.

Last week, Dave Ramsey sent me this email.

What does it mean?

The short answer? He’s a great leader.

The long answer?

We’re planning the biggest, craziest thing we’ve done together in the last three years.

We rented part of Times Square. We rented a huge digital billboard. We’re parking the Start tour bus in the middle of Times Square. Then we’re throwing a party for 200 people. (There are a few tickets left, so sign up if you want to come.)

It’s a massive endeavor with a thousand moving pieces. We’re giving people t-shirts and posters. I’m giving a talk about what it means to really punch fear in the face.

There’s a lot of pressure. So when Dave visited New York last week, he wanted to encourage me.

He took a picture of our friend JK standing in the exact same spot we’d be on April 21. And then he told me to punch fear in the face. Why?

Because leaders go first.

Part of good leadership is being willing to go first.

To step into a fear or an opportunity and go first.

To shout first.

To own the situation first.

To celebrate first.

That last one is often the hardest. Leaders sometimes feel they are being too over-the-top. They don’t want to come off as cheesy or silly. So they don’t celebrate loudly. They quietly pat backs and shake hands. But the best leaders celebrate first.

When you go first, you give everyone you lead the opportunity to go next. And next is always easier than first.

Start NYC is going to be crazy. How do I know?

Because Dave Ramsey went first.

In less than two weeks, 200 folks will get this t-shirt in New York City. We’ll have a big party. I’ll talk about the 5 things it takes to be more awesome, more often. And then, we’ll walk a block to Times Square where we will have an even bigger party.

The t-shirt is free when you buy a ticket for $19.

The first 50% of the tickets sold out in the first four days after we launched the event. It will sell out soon. Don’t miss your chance to go. If you’re ready to Start, sign up today.

I tend to be pretty skeptical of people who say that, if you change the way you think, you can change the whole world.

I tend to scoff when people tell me to “turn my frown upside down” or to “look for the silver lining.”

I think there’s a lot of nonsense floating out there in self-help circles. But the more I research the ways we’re all wired, the harder it gets for me to doubt the power of thought.

And a story I recently read in Rapt by Winifred Gallagher really challenged me. Here’s what she wrote:

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I figured it out.

It’s actually pretty simple.

I even put it in a cool looking image that’s all hipster.

Here’s the reason.

I’m all about the honesty, so here’s the simple truth, the historic theater we’re throwing a wild event in on April 21 holds 200 people.

We sold 72 tickets in the first 30 hours after launching the event.

That means there are 128 left, which isn’t a lot. It will sell out soon.

If you come to the event, you will get a free t-shirt, a brilliant poster, an awesome night and one other fantastic surprise I can’t tell you about yet.

It’s $19 and it’s going to be wicked awesome.

Come to New York on April 21.

Get ready to start.

Sign up today.

My new book Start is about navigating the five lands on the road to awesome.

It’s a step-by-step guide to being more awesome, more often.

And as part of our New York City launch event, the creative team at the Dave Ramsey headquarters created this map mixing the book with the 5 borroughs.

If you come to the event, you’re getting one for free.

Sign up today, it’s going to be awesome!

Sometimes we think life is complicated. It feels tangled and twisted and complex. But then, someone challenges you with a single idea, a single sentence or, in some cases, a single question.

That’s what my friend Ken Coleman does in his new book One Question.

Inside the pages, he asks some of the greatest leaders in the world one question.

The responses are amazing, the stories helpful, and the advice practical.

My personal favorite was probably the question he asked Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve long been a Gladwell fan, and it was awesome to see Ken ask him about what it takes to instill a work ethic in kids. As a dad, I found that particular section of the book really fascinating.

I don’t do a ton of book reviews, but this is one book I definitely recommend you check out.

Here’s the simple truth about your past:

Your past will either conform you or inform you.

It will shape you and twist and force you into decisions you don’t want to make.

Or it will teach you and help you and inform you.

The choice is yours.

And maybe, like George Bernard Shaw said, it’s time to stop running from it and time to start dancing with it.