Returning to my passions through Laudato Si’
July 8, 2025
On being under the rock
July 8, 2025
By Daniel Francis
I was on my way to a function one day, driving quietly in the car, as I sometimes do. My mind began to drift off, and I started daydreaming. I imagined a scenario where I had a family. In this daydream, my imaginary family was in danger, and like the father, I was tasked with saving them.
I heroically burst onto the scene, laying down my life to save them. I went out in a blaze of glory, and with my last breath, I expressed my gratitude for their safety and my love for them. I died with a smile on my face.
This wasn’t the first time I had a daydream like this, and I don’t believe I’m the only one. I think many men experience these kinds of imaginings. It makes sense—we often imagine ourselves in heroic ways, going out in glory for the ones we love.
To die for your family? It seems like the ultimate form of sacrifice. But what if there was more that we as men could give? What if the highest form of love isn’t dying for your family?—but living for them.
We’ve been conditioned to see dying for our loved ones as the ultimate form of sacrifice. But let me ask: I know you’d die for your family… but would you exercise for them?
Would you eat better for them? Would you fix your unhealthy habits for them?
Would you work on your bad sleeping patterns for them? Would you chase your dreams for them? Would you pray for them? Would you lead with faith for them?
Would you show up consistently where it matters most?
Because true protection is showing up and being the best versions of ourselves. I’ll admit getting up an hour earlier to hit the gym, taking an extra half an hour at the end of the day to read your Bible, or maybe eating more veggies certainly does not feel heroic. But it is.
Presenting myself to those I love as a healthy, grounded, faith-filled version of myself is the best thing I can do for them. For some, the thought of being consistent or working on their bad habits is more difficult than anything else, yet these are the actions that have the most profound effect.
So next time your imagination takes you down that road of that ultimate sacrifice, I challenge you to start imagining living a life with strong mental, physical, financial, and spiritual health.
A life where you show up consistently for those you love. A life where you are guided by faith and through your personal leadership, you encourage those around you.
It might not sound as exciting. It may not have the great climax of a heroic death. But living for your loved ones is the true goal.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). I read this piece of scripture now and think maybe it’s not about laying down our lives but laying down our unhealthy habits, our ego, or our daily comfort in pursuit of betterment of ourselves and to be of better service to those around us.
So yes, be willing to die for them. But more importantly, be willing to live for them.
Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.
LinkedIn: Daniel Francis
IG: o.m.publishing
Website: www.ompublishing.org
