The Simple Truth of Life
Do you want to know a simple truth that will help you feel better about today?
You want some wisdom in your life if you're here. So here comes the truth of the matter. Get ready, because it might not be what you want to hear!
"You can't go back once you've started this journey. You can only go forward."
- Sylvester Stallone, Tulsa King
It's the god-awful truth of the matter. Once you've started the journey, you can't go back. That's the price you're paying. If you didn't know you were paying a price, let me educate you.
When you were born you had very little say so in the matter. Your parents, in a very horny, and possibly drunken state, forgot to wear a condom or use some other form of birth control. Hell, maybe your mother honey trapped your father into knocking her up so she'd get paid, or could use him for some other reason. Maybe Daddy bought a hooker and accidents happen. Or maybe, just maybe, they were actually in love. Based on all the single-parent households and lack of respect for marriage in the 21st century, I'd say the latter was the least likely.
If you want to know, you better ask them! But only if you know who both are. Remember, if you don't know who your father is, that's an awkward discussion to have with Mommy.
Now, let's put each person's personal story aside, and look at the one common denominator. On the day we're born, we're all born the same. That is the last day in your history that the statement is true. All men are created equally. All men/women are humans, and deserve the same basic human rights. That's where it stops.
The one thing that nobody talks about regularly is what you do with your birthright inheritance. It's the thing you get the day you pop out of your mother's belly, or are taken out by a doctor. As soon as you take that first breath, you have inherited currency. But are you claiming it and using it wisely?
What's done can't be undone. You can only do better tomorrow. And, it fits right in with how you spend your currency. Wait, nobody told you that you were rich? That's right! Rich!
You were born, it's your birthday, and you just got the biggest present you're going to ever get. You were just handed 27,375 chances to do anything and everything you can dream of. But what you do with the 3750th chance will decide how your 400th day goes. What you do with your 7500th chance will paint the picture you are living when you are on your 10,000th chance. Have you figured it out yet?
The price we pay is in days, the most valuable currency there is in this world. We sell or trade it most of our adult lives. Some of it we give away, usually in trade for something we want or need.
Are you spending your currency wisely? Or are you wasting it until you get older? If you don't get sick, end up with a debilitating illness, or wind up in a life you created and end up hating it, you could have more than 27,375 days in this life. From birth to age 75, that's what you have to work with.
Make the best of it, and don't look back to yesterday. Yesterdays gone. There's no going back to yesterday, and there's no fixing what's done. You can choose to move forward and do better tomorrow than you did today. And most of the world hopes you do, because most of the world roots for everyone to do their best and succeed. The rest, however, is up to you.
About the Creator
Jason Ray Morton
Writing has become more important as I live with cancer. It's a therapy, it's an escape, and it's a way to do something lasting that hopefully leaves an impression.
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More stories from Jason Ray Morton and writers in Motivation and other communities.
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How I earn $100 in a day
There was a time when earning $100 in a single day felt like a fantasy to me. Not a goal — a fantasy. I remember staring at my phone late at night, doing small mental calculations: If I earn $5 today and $10 tomorrow, maybe by the end of the month… Even those numbers weren’t guaranteed. Some days, nothing came in at all. And that silence — the absence of notifications, emails, or messages — was louder than failure. People online love to talk about success like it’s loud and shiny. For me, it was quiet. Heavy. Full of doubt. The day I earned $100 didn’t begin with excitement. It began like every other day: tired eyes, a slow morning, and a question I kept asking myself — Is this even worth it? What kept me going wasn’t motivation. It was necessity. I didn’t suddenly become smarter or more talented. I didn’t discover a secret website or a hidden trick. I simply stopped waiting for the “perfect” moment and started using what I already had. I offered small digital work. Simple things. Work that wouldn’t impress anyone on social media — but work that people genuinely needed. And I did it sincerely. That day, the first payment came in early. It wasn’t big. Just enough to remind me that someone trusted me with their money. That feeling mattered more than the amount. Later, while I was offline, something unexpected happened. A digital product I had created earlier — something I almost didn’t upload because I thought it wasn’t good enough — sold. Then it sold again. I stared at the screen for a few seconds, unsure whether to smile or stay calm. By evening, another small task came my way. Then one more. None of these moments felt dramatic. No fireworks. No victory music. Just quiet confirmations that effort, even imperfect effort, still counts. When I finally added everything together late at night, my heart paused. It crossed $100. I didn’t jump. I didn’t celebrate. I just sat there — still — because for the first time, the number felt real. What hit me hardest wasn’t the money. It was the realization that I had been underestimating myself for a long time. I believed earning like this was reserved for “others” — more confident people, more skilled people, luckier people. That belief was wrong. Earning $100 in a day didn’t change my life instantly. But it changed something inside me. It replaced doubt with proof. And proof is powerful. Now I understand something important: money doesn’t always come from doing big things. Sometimes it comes from doing small things consistently and with sincerity. Some days I still don’t reach $100. Some days are quiet again. But the fear is gone. Because once you know something is possible, it stops being a dream and starts being a process. I no longer wait for motivation. I work, even when I feel unsure. I trust that effort never disappears — it just takes time to show itself. If you’re reading this while feeling stuck, tired, or invisible, I want you to know something honestly: You’re not behind. You’re just early in your story. And one ordinary day — without warning — things can start to add up.
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Comments (2)
This piece delivers a powerful message about the value of time and the importance of living each day to the fullest. Thank you for sharing such wisdom.
Sage counsel, my friend. I would simply suggest a few amendments: While it's true that we can't go back, the number of ways in which we can move forward are infinite, & many if not most involve reflection upon what is past. What we do with one particular day powerfully affects all the days that follow, but it does not determine them. It more than likely narrows their scope, but the ways we have of moving forward remain limitless. It's true that we cannot fix what has been done. But we can attempt to atone, mend our ways, & heal whatever brokenness we have caused. At the same time, we cannot make someone forgive us or join in the healing process, & to expect such of another is simply to further the harm. But we can surrender our own hurts & pride & offer the possibility. It will not fix the past, but by addressing the past we may find a brighter future. As always, well written, Jason. I only found one piece of errata: second sentence of the final paragraph it should be "Yesterday's" with an apostrophe for the contraction. Thought-provoking & stimulating as usual &, of course, quite sage.