This is the tale of Russell and Randy.

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, asked his teammates at the beginning of the 2013 season, “Hey, why not us?” And a few months later they won the Super Bowl. (They beat the Broncos, but that’s another story…)

Growing up, his father would ask him, “Russ, why not you? Believe in the talent God has given you even though you’re 5-foot-11, and you can go a long way.” So that’s why he decided to play football and “go against the odds a little bit.”

Randy lives life in a wheelchair. He tells me about looking forward to running up and down that spiral staircase in his room in heaven. His touchdowns, so to speak. It takes him an hour to put on his socks, but he wears a “No Whining” t-shirt. He participates in social actions around town, and those actions have changed things. I’ve never seen him with a somber look on his face. He lights up rooms. He goes against the odds a little bit. No, a lot.

The world needs Russell and Randy. They make their mark. They refuse to NOT be fantastic.

The world needs you and me too. What mark do you want to make? What’s your life message? What’s your all-consuming “why?” To paraphrase Michael Hyatt, “If you’ve lost your why, you’ve lost your way.”

One way to figure it out is to create your mission statement, your intentional, overarching “to do” in life. I believe much of the despair around us has to do with people’s lack of purpose/mission, but WITH a clear mission, life starts coming together as more meaningful and lot more fun. I believe Russell and Randy are clear on their mission.

“When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” ~W. Clement Stone

Why shouldn’t you be the one to do something wonderful…and be fantastic?