Earn This!

As I watched the movie “Saving Private Ryan” again, I remembered a scene which really hit me. Aside from the blood and gore of that first scene, there was something that hit me even more. The premise of the movie is that a group of solders lead by Tom Hanks’ character – Captain John H. Miller is ordered to find Private Ryan (James Francis Ryan of Iowa) - Matt Damon who unknowingly has lost all three brothers in the war. After searching, fighting and losing soldier after soldier from his squad, Hanks group finally find Private Ryan who refuses to leave with them. Even after hearing about his brothers he wants to stay with his platoon because he feels they are the only brothers he now has left.

Miller’s squad and Private Ryan’s platoon are tasked with either protecting the bridge by stopping the Germans from crossing or if they cannot hold it, then blow it up. So they have to fight in order to keep the bridge. After they manage to hold the bridge there are only a few soldiers left, a dying Tom Hanks (Miller) and Matt Damon (Ryan).  As he is dying Tom Hanks grabs Matt and tells him “James, Earn this, Earn it” meaning to make his life count, to make it worth it as a lot of soldiers died trying to save him and send him home to his family.

So, I thought in my life what does it mean to Earn this! Earn what? The success you want to pursue, reach and accomplish. The life you want to live, the legacy you want to leave behind. In order to Earn This you have to get into action. I use to think I was working towards my goals because I thought about them, or talked about them constantly. That is not the “action” required to achieve and Earn this. I thought I was living the life I wanted. I use to think legacy was the material things I left behind. But I was living small because I realized there was more that I could give and leave behind by striving to Earn this not only daily but constantly with each decision I make. TV or reading, make calls or put it off, grow personally or choose to stay the same. If we all strive to do our best daily rather than play it small I believe we will all not only feel better about our life but also about the legacy each one of us leaves behind.

I want to live my life so that I can say I earned this

I want to live my life so that others will say I earned this

I want to live my life so that my God will say I earned this.