My Name Is Jasper

Stairway To Heaven

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,

And my spirit is crying for leaving.

In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,

And the voices of those who stand looking.

Stairway to Heaven – Robert Plant (12)

Did you know that when you see lightning, you should start to count? As it thunders you have to divide the number you reached by the distance the thunder is from you and you will know exactly how fast you counted. True story.

Just as important as between how you live and how you aspire to live, is having a healthy gap between where you are and where you want to be. I believe WHO you are is determined by WHERE you want to go and HOW you live getting there. And let's be honest: we need motivation. Without motivation we will not move.

Just like your personal principles, your personal goals should give you a challenge. One of the world's biggest icons, and my father's hero, John F. Kennedy said: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

Balance again is key. A personal goal, or business target for that matter, should be high enough to be a motivation ("If only I could get there"), but not unachievable ("I'll never get there"). Some people are disheartened or even scared of the gap between where they are and where they wish to be. When Kennedy gave his Address on the Nation's Space Effort at Rice University in 1962, many in the large crowd of Texans probably thought this would be unachievable. Guess what: in 1969 Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. What seemed impossible a few years earlier, was immortalised by the astronaut's words: "That's one small step for [a] (13) man, one giant leap for mankind. (...) Good luck Mr. Gorsky." Wait, what!? Urban legend has it that Armstrong mumbled those 4 words, and for 26 years people came up with the wildest theories what those words meant. According to many people attending a Q&A session with the hero in Tampa Bay in 1995, Armstrong himself shed light to this enigma. When he was a kid his basketball had flown over the fence, into the neighbours' back yard. His neighbours were Mr. and Ms. Gorsky. He jumped the fence and ran after his ball, which had landed beneath the Gorsky's bedroom window. While picking up is ball, young Neil heard a ridiculing Ms. Gorsky shout: "Oral Sex!? I'll give you oral sex when that kid next door walks on the moon!" Armstrong never confirmed the story, but said it was a joke from comedian Buddy Hackett. Moving on...

When 18-year old Jasper went to University, he kept a small notebook. Writing down random ideas. On the first page he wrote: "Everyone should have a goal in life. When you reach it, you must die". Maybe that was a little harsh... Sure, every climax is followed by some sort of black hole that has been luring in the dark. Even when we take a step back from big life goals and quests, we still get that feeling of temporarily emptiness quite regularly caused by some of the most trivial things. After 9 seasons How I Met Your Mother (14) came to an end on March 31st 2014. "How can we go on? That show was legen... wait for it..." Not to worry, switch the channel and you're hooked on another show. There you go, the emptiness starts to fill and the seeds of a new black hole are planted.

You don't need to die.

You need a new goal. Which brings us back to the healthy gap. As you progress towards your goals in life, your goals will adapt too. As you get stronger, more secure, more motivated, you will learn you have more potential than you realised before. That is why you will keep pushing out your goal. Whether you want more success in your career, discover more new places, or read more stories, that hunger will be there. And that is good. The gap should not scare you, you should not hate the gap. "Love the gap" is one of Peter Sheahan's (15) mottos. He was the first to introduce me to the concept. Too many people are focused on reaching this perfect state, a Utopia, and are unhappy that they are not there. Peter pushes people to love the journey and grow during it.