Last year my friend Lindsey Nobles kept telling me I should read Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles In A Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. Well, I finally did… and I loved it. But before I get into why I loved it, I should tell you a couple of things about my reading habits.

1. I love to read, but my best times to read are when I travel. I seem to be able to focus without having to deal with much distraction at all. If it’s a long weekend of flying around the country, even better – more time for me to read.
2. I’m purposefully late to the game on some things in my life. When I first heard about Donald Miller, everyone I knew was reading Blue Like Jazz. Then one night in Denver at a music industry showcase, I got to meet Donald Miller backstage. He was funny and completely engaging. Plus he is friends with my Big Tent band mate, Randy Williams, which provided for a quick prank call to Randy’s voice mail with Donald’s humor all over it.

So… here I am. I have finally read a Donald Miller book and the one I read first was exactly the book I needed to read. Here’s why:

I travel a lot and because I do, I meet all kinds of people from all walks of life. Somewhere along my own journey I heard a phrase that has stuck with me… Everyone has a story.

It’s true isn’t it? Some people have these great stories about the journey of their life. But others… not so much.

Then there is the immediate story. The one you don’t know, the one you don’t see… all in the one that stands right in front of you. You might know them, you might have just met them, you might have just done business with them, you might be standing there not paying attention and say absolutely nothing to them or in my case as I write this post… I might be sitting next to them on a flight.

That person has a story they are living out right as we speak. Whether they realize it or not… it could be a tough story of life or one of happiness and success… All the same… It’s a story and it’s unfolding.

In all of my travels and meeting different people, I sometimes look at who I am and wonder… Am I really living out my story well? Am I even living? Do I know that my life is truly worth living? And not just living for me… but living in such a way to encourage others to live their lives well… or better?

You see… I’m all about a person’s story. It’s what makes us unique. It brings a certain character and flavor into our voice, our decisions, our relationships and the way we interact with life.

As I read the book, I wondered in and out of Donald’s story feeling inspired for different reasons to make the most of the opportunities I have in my life. But the greatest take-a-way I had was this.

My story has many chapters. With each chapter come new characters, twists and turns. My story is mine to live, mine to own and mine to grab a hold of and not let go. And all I could think was…

I’m ready to live a better story for myself. I want to live a better story. I’m going to live a better story.

As I finished Donald’s book, my flight was literally coming in on approach into Portland, Oregon while finishing the last page. (Fitting since it’s where Donald lives.)

Donald… Thanks. Thanks for having such a great way with your words, your humor and for telling a great story. Most importantly, thank you for continuing to live a better story and telling us about it… the good times and the bad.

I loved your book.

Spence.

Question: Thoughts on living a better story?