Introduction: The Fatherly Advice Behind The Highest Aim

Introduction

When I was 15 years old, I began taking Driver’s Education. We started in the classroom with an instruction manual—the basics of operating a motor vehicle. Sit up straight, buckle up, adjust the mirrors, accelerator, brake, turn signals. I’d watched adults drive for years. I knew all this.

Then came the laws of the road, the rules that could get you pulled over or worse. I was among the top students in the classroom, so I was in the first group assigned to the driving simulator.

Simulators were new technology back then, pioneering stuff. Nowadays kids master video games far more complex than driving long before they turn 15. But this was different.

I was confident academically, yet deeply insecure about this particular challenge. Growing up in a small town, kids fell into two camps: city kids and farm kids. I was a city kid. The farm kids had been driving tractors, trucks, and heavy equipment since they were twelve. Many already had a farmer’s license. They approached Driver’s Ed with the easy confidence of experience.

I had none of that. My dad was an auto mechanic before becoming a trade school instructor in automotive technology, and he’d always loved cars. But somehow that interest never transferred to me. So despite my academic performance putting me at the front of the line for both the simulator and the behind-the-wheel training, an underlying anxiety shadowed this rite of passage.

The simulator was fine—if you messed up, nobody got hurt and nothing was damaged. The screen just froze. You lost points. The behind-the-wheel training was also manageable, though it felt like over-coaching. “Stay in this lane. Signal to move. Slow down. Not so fast. Quick stop!” I never relaxed. I overthought every action, fixated on each micro-step, overreacting to every tiny mistake.

As final preparation for my driving test, my dad took over in the passenger’s seat for some practice. That’s when everything changed. He gave me one piece of advice that I remember to this day: “Aim high.”

I’d been looking right over the steering wheel, directly beyond the hood of the vehicle, at everything just in front of me, overreacting and overcorrecting to every anticipated movement of the vehicle. This was especially true on the open highway, where I was trying to maintain a straight course between the yellow line on my left and the white line on my right.

“Aim high,” he said. “Bring your focus up and look further ahead at where you’re going. Aim for the horizon.”

The change was instant. I needed less correction. There was no need to be making all these adjustments with the steering wheel so often. The car moved smoothly and maintaining course between the lines much more natural. I still saw everything in my peripheral vision, but by fixing my focus further down the road—aiming high—everything slowed down. Less adjustments were needed. My confidence grew. My path and destination became clearer. Stress and anxiety faded away.

All from two words: “Aim high.”

That moment became a metaphor for a lot of things in life—including faith, purpose, and God himself. It’s the foundational principle of this book.

Whatever we aim for shapes who we become. The higher the aim, the better the outcome. So why not place that aim on the highest thing imaginable?

If you don’t believe in God, keep reading. The case is compelling. The journey may not always be easy, but the destination is well worth it.

If you consider yourself a believer, you might be challenged at times, maybe even offended. But you may also find yourself feeling liberated and freer to be who you were designed to be. You might move beyond rules and legalism toward mercy and love, beyond emotions and feelings to a more confident faith grounded in truth, equipped to discern the difference.

We need an aim. We need to be progressing toward something. The progression matters more than the achievement. It’s essential to being genuinely joyful and content. The more noble the aim, the more fulfilled we become in our purpose.

Without a noble aim, we tend to drift toward the path of least resistance and simply “go with the flow.” And a lot of times, the flow is moving in an unhealthy direction without us even realizing it. We’re left with shallow, trivial pleasures that end. They don’t sustain us.

So how do we figure out our aim? What can we believe? What can we understand? How do we know what the right values and boundaries should be to find meaning in a world filled with unavoidable pain and suffering?

Seek a higher aim. Whatever yours is now, set it higher. Seek the highest aim possible—God.

God has provided us with ample evidence. He’s made Himself known to us and the case is compelling. But He’s given us the free will to accept or deny Him.

My goal here is to compile and simplify a lifetime of learning, building on foundational truths from Scripture, and holding them up next to some of life’s most memorable moments.

Through the ups and downs of life, I’ve sensed something: God’s design for us is simpler, more exciting, and far more rewarding than most people realize—especially when we embrace it as early as possible in life.

This book will clear away barriers, build upon firm foundations, and invite you into an adventure that changes everything.

The adventure begins now. Like discovering a treasure map, you can bring fresh passion and purpose as you navigate each day knowing you were made from the very beginning for something bigger than just yourself.

Learning to find joy in the journey as you begin to see things through a lens that brings everything into sharper focus and meaning.

The Highest Aim.

__________________________________________________________________________________