Unlimited Teen
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 07/29/2009 at 1:19 PM
A few weeks ago, I blogged about Zac Sunderland, the 17-year-old who was the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the world alone. The feat took Zac 13 months.
Several of you commented that you don't have to take a voyage to prove your manhood. This is true. However, it is Zac's fortitude to see a project through start to finish that makes him stand out from among his peers.
Looks like Zac has been keeping some pretty good company since his return. He writes: "A lot of young people were fired up not to be limited by other peoples' low expectations." I like his 1 Timothy 4:12 attitude.
1. BDB said the following at 3:17 PM on Jul 29:
And apparently, if you're the winning bidder on eBay, you're allowed to talk to him.
Hmmm....
Perhaps Taylor Swift has something similar on eBay.
I sincerely hope that Zac uses his 15 minutes of fame to finance his college education.
2. brx said the following at 4:04 PM on Jul 29:
Doing hard things can be a great growing experience and accomplishing them can give a great feeling.
Not knowing Zac, I can't comment on his motivations, but as brothers & sisters in Christ, PLEASE be checking on yourself and with other godly mentors to be sure your motivations are good and NOT stemming from a root of pride or getting your sense of self-worth in the wrong places. Even many church leaders fall with a thud because they were putting so much into doing hard things for wrong reasons. They may even appear to greatly succeed... but later find out it was worthless - nothing but a glistening heap of dung as Paul might say.
Grace, peace & adventure in the worthwhile things
3. brx said the following at 4:30 PM on Jul 29:
BTW, Susanne;
Last post on this subject, you lauded Samuel Adams and Alexander Hamilton; two men who clearly did not always employ Biblical righteousness in their ethics. They seemed to frequently decide that the 'ends justifies the means'.
It could be said that Sam Adams' careless passion desperately needed his brother John Adams' care for righteous procedure.
As for Alexander Hamilton, it could be said that he successfully proposed and setup our country's unbiblical system of a nation living in continuous debt.
Sure, they did hard things, but that does not by itself make them people worthy of looking up to.
I hope no one is feeling pressured to perform beyond the custom-fitted yoke Jesus has for us. I have a feeling that most of the greatest people in Heaven will not have been thought very great in this world.
Grace, peace & adventure on The Way
4. BDB said the following at 7:06 PM on Jul 29:
The OP wrote:
>>it is Zac's fortitude to see a project through start to finish that makes him stand out from among his peers.<<
Oh - I just realized that this is one of the key reasons my family insisted that I go to college: because, regardless of what you major in, it shows that one has the maturity to finish something that one starts. Indeed, navigating the bureaucracy of a college (especially if you do something unique like design your own major) is a great way to demonstrate being able to work with those in authority without throwing a temper tantrum.
Like Steve Fosset, he needs to go to college now, and finish.
5. Elisabeth said the following at 11:57 PM on Jul 29:
I was at that Do Hard Things conference this last Saturday, and I think it was very encouraging for the teens there to see three teenage guys who are living up to the potential God gave them. As a middle school teacher, I am so excited to see young men and women like these standing up and doing things that set them apart.