I remember when I had everything going for me, a good job, a wonderful woman who loved me, and a deep sense of purpose. I chased goals bigger than most people allow themselves to dream. I had an intense desire to serve, and to do righteous things. I was in a state that I really loved my life.
Then I fell out of balance. I slipped through certain fail-safes I had built in my life to hedge against the anachronistic event of failure. I had allowed pride to swell and ambition to trump humility. I failed to uphold my fail-safes when I needed them most, and I was the one to taste the bitter.
After loosing so much of what we value in life (love, trust, and friendship) and tasting the intense acrimony of loneliness, can a man finally hit a reset button.
But, a reset is no guarantee of success. A man must root from him old habits and false prejudices, and dedicate himself to change. That is the purpose of these 13 Virtues. Each week I will formulate personal goals touching one of these virtues. After a full 52 week year, I will have dedicated 4 weeks to integrating each of these virtues into my character.
My goal is to become a great man, the kind of man that my friends, family, and associates trust and embrace. The kind that any mother or father would love to have as their son-in-law. It will not be easy, but if I endure it well, and discipline myself in the internalizing of these virtues, I know that I will become the man that I hope to be.