So I just finished reading a book called the Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz. It’s a crime/espionage fiction book but it gave me a mind-blowing revelation. Let me set the scene for you. This book is about a group of secret agent operatives called Orphans who have been trained from when they were kids, hence the title orphan and each Orphan is assigned a handler. In this part of the book the main character is talking about when he first started living with his handler, the following is the exact text from the book,
They head up the flight of stairs to a dormer room with a wooden bed. On the mattress the sheets are folded crisply, ironed into neat squares. Jack walks to the desk, lifts the blotter, and uses a fresh handkerchief to wipe away an invisible speck on the polished wood surface. He folds the handkerchief neatly and inserts it back into his rear pocket. “Make your bed”. Jack leaves Evan alone in the room. Evan struggles with the sheets. He pulls and tugs but cannot get them on properly, let alone taut and wrinkle-free. He goes downstairs and pokes around until he finds Jack in the garage, meticulously cleaning a handgun. Evan stiffens at the sight of the weapon, then swallows down his fear. “The sheets aren’t right,” Evan says. Jack keeps his gaze on the skinny brush, poking it in and out of the bore. “The sheets aren’t the problem. I’ve used them to make up that bed many times.” Evan takes a breath. “Okay,” he says. “I can’t make the bed right.” Jack’s eyes tick up above the top of the barrel. “And?” It takes a moment for Evan to understand what Jack is waiting fro him to say. He finds the words: “Can you help me?” Jack lays aside the gun. “Be happy to”. Back upstairs; Jack regards the sloppy bed as Evan squirms. Jack walks over, inverts the edge of the fitted sheet over his hand, and shows Evan how to flop it neatly over the corner of the mattress. Jack continues straightening the sheets, keeping his body out of the way so Evan can watch and learn.“I’ll never be able to do it that good,” Evan says, “You don’t have to. You just have to make it better than you did last time.”
Now I don’t know about you, but the simplicity of that message almost bowled me over when I read it and I got two very important things from it.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
I am 100% guilty of this. I don’t know why but so many of us see asking for help as failure but that is SO not the case. None of us are super-humans (even though we may think that). While I’ve been working on my visa application there was a point where I hit a wall and didn’t know what to do and I remember my mum saying, “Jared ask your friends for help! What are you so afraid of?” and so I did and the advice and help my friends gave me ended up being the break through that I needed. So don’t be afraid to reach out when you need it. No one should walk this journey of life alone and if someone helps you then simply pass it on to the next person that is in need of a helping hand.
- There is no such thing as perfection.
I had the biggest eye-opening experience when I read the line, “You just have to make it better than you did last time”. It’s so true, so many of us strive for perfection (myself included), which is great however when we aren’t perfect we then proceed to beat ourselves up over it. Perfection, though a great goal to have is simply not realistic. Therefore live your life with this motto; you just need to be better than before. Continue to strive for improvement, to better yourself in all aspects of your life, but don’t fall apart when you ultimately realise you are not perfect. There is beauty in our flaws, they are what make you, you!
Also, one more thing that I got out of this is, continue to read! Reading is such a great way to challenge the mind but also it often inspires you in ways you never thought it could. The Nowhere Man was just another fiction book when I started reading it, but it ended up changing my perspective in such a huge way!
So celebrate your imperfection and remember to ask for help when you need it!!!
Until next week,
Jared xx
Brisbane To Broadway 