GlocalNet

Everybody wants to be a pioneer because of how they blaze the trails, show the way, take the risks, have the stories - until they are exposed, attacked, or alone!  It’s at that point you find out who the real pioneers are and who the settlers are.  Years ago, I heard Thom Wolfe from the, then, Church on Brady talk about this along with another man J.V. Thomas.  It has stuck with me all these years.  Some of this is them and some of it is me.  Be you a church starter, a diplomat, an educator, or a mom at home with 3 kids - some of you are trail blazers.  What sets you apart?

1.  YOU BLAZE THE TRAILS - which means there is no infra-structure, you have to make your own.  You have to do that with a machete and make the path wide enough to just get through.  As more wagons follow you, the ruts get deeper, the trail gets wider and more way is cleared.  But in the meantime, you have to ward off snakes, animals, and unexpected drop offs.  You have an exceptional appetite for adventure.

2.  THIS MEANS YOU WON’T MOVE AS FAST AS A SETTLER!!!!  That’s the trade-off, you will see others move a lot faster than you, and that is good, you just don’t need to feel defeated because you didn’t get to move that fast - instead celebrate that you helped open the trail.  Success is measured in feet not miles.  You have an exceptional ability to endure when others would give up. 

3.  YOU LIVE IN THE FUTURE.  But living in the future while in the present can make life very, very complicated.  You have to keep one foot in the present and one moving forward to the future.  You still have to gather food to eat, keep your tools sharp in your present moment, or your wagon will break down and you won’t make it.  You have an exceptional ability to discern and see where things are headed - you may not be the best at articulating them - but you feel them. 

4.  YOUR BIGGEST REWARD COMES WHEN YOU’RE GONE.  Settlers are able to prosper, build big houses, do business because there are now more people, help, etc.,  There are not many statues to settlers, but there are to pioneers - others come behind them that they never see or know because they die.  Settlers have their names on buildings like banks, schools, etc., 

5.  PIONEERS ARE GENERALLY OPTIMISTIC.  They aren’t angry, negative, reactive or they’d never made it.  If you’re running from something - you may wind up with some of my ancestors from the Alamo with William Barret Travis - it becomes a last stand.  If you’re running to something, you will be more like a Daniel Boone.  I live on a piece of land here in Texas that the Boone’s settled.  Daniel’s son went to Missouri; his son came to Texas right where I am.  They were always excited about what else could be. 

6.  PIONEERS ARE . . . . . .  You fill in the blank . . . .