Sunday Night with John: Allow Me To Re-introduce Myself

Examining  The Invisible: examines who John Paul Derryberry is halfway to seventy. I have lived long enough to go through major life moments, but still have a long life ahead of me to figure out the greater conundrums facing my existence.

To catch up, click here for part one: http://jpderryberry.com/blog/foodie

Or here, for part two: http://jpderryberry.com/blog/goodbye

Or, for part three: derryberry.com/blog/mryumski

Or, for part four: http://jpderryberry.com/blog/ohio

Part Five: 

To quote one of the more influential philosophers of our time, Jay-Z,  “Allow me to re-introduce myself”.  The brand new core message of John Paul Derryberry is:

If you want to grow, to change, to inspire, you must chase the invisible.

Or, the short, snappy, and cool version:

CHASE THE INVISIBLE

Any dream, whether that of being a big movie star in the latest block-buster, a comedian playing to sold-out shows, a doctor finding the cure for cancer, or a suicidal person just hoping to not think about killing themselves for one day, means we must chase a life, a moment, and version of ourselves that does not yet exist -- a version that is invisible. And, what I realized after a self-prescribed, self-discovery quest over the last three months is that this is what I have done my entire life-- Chase the Invisible.

Whether it was 8-year-old John just wanting to beat his dad in a game of chess; 13-year-old John just wanting to not be his brother in high school; 16-year-old John wanting to play college basketball; 18-year-old suicidal John just wanting a taste of happiness again; 23-year-old new speaker John just wanting his first speaking engagement; or 35-year-old John who somehow wants his public speaking to get him on a segment of Ellen’s TV show; I always have been chasing something I cannot see. And,  somewhere along the way, I started pushing, imploring, and yelling for everyone else to do the same.

It has led me to places I never imagined I would go, such as becoming an avid backpacker, a foodie, and a guy who, on more than a handful of times, has been told I saved someone’s life because of how I treated them. Want to know the best feeling in the world? It's watching someone who said they wanted to kill themselves slowly start talking about their future. Chasing the Invisible has allowed me to play out my dream of being a college basketball player and, for a guy who cannot jump and is slow, that is not too shabby. More importantly, this chase somehow took me down a path toward a new dream, a better dream. Now I encouraged others that they, too, could chase the invisible, a life beyond their abuse, abandonment, and self-doubts.

I will never stop chasing the invisible and will always show others how to do it, too. This mantra has allowed me to take on cases that other caregivers threw away as too far gone because they could not see a way to getting the person healthy. I do not need to see that path because I love chasing what I cannot see and you should, too. When I work with struggling youth or adults my goal is to convince them they can have a better life. And, when I work with the people who provide services, my goal is to convince them they can help, whomever they are attempting to help, to reach that better life. To do that, we must know our dreams, know that our better life is out there in the unknown dark world. Trust me, although it's invisible, it’s out there. Just because we cannot see it does not mean it does not exist.

So, if you need me, I will be somewhere convincing someone of any legal way possible to Chase the Invisible.