Sometimes we think our path in life is already pretty well optimized but then something comes along to challenge that belief.  In Ryan’s case, that challenge was confronting the fact that he was an alcoholic and an addict and I suppose that’s what made me consider this one so carefully as not everybody is going to identify with his particular experience.

The thing is, the great thing, about this story, is that no matter where we are on our own journey, we can relate to Ryan’s story on some level.  By even seeking to optimize for awesomeness in life, we implicitly acknowledge that we can always continue to grow and we take responsibility for that growth.  We empower ourselves to look for areas of our lives that can be made better by owning our situation, making new decisions, changing our outlook or building new habits.

Ryan is a lucky guy – he had the presence of mind to accept the help when it was offered to him.  Life was teaching him a hard lesson, but luckily he was present in class that day and paying attention to what he needed to learn.