Dear Jack,

I love you.

The relationship between a father and his son is fraught with complications, doubly so between a stepfather and his son.

When I committed to raising you as my own, I did not expect it would be easy.

Nor did I expect it would be so damn hard.

You have put each one of the vowels and most of the consonants into the word CHALLENGING, to put it mildly.

You have been, at times, frustrating, consternating, bull-headed, smart-assed, lazy, and a t-total pain in my ass.

All while being bright, curious, artistic, kind, loving, and, on an occasion or two, hard-working.

I have fretted over you.

There have been sleepless nights, anxious days, and long conversations with my friends and mentors about just what I was going to do with you.

Last night, you eased my anxiety ever so slightly.

I will never forget you walking in the door from your latest job (Starbucks, at Target, in case you are reading this years from now and can't remember), whistling a tune, and bebopping into the kitchen.

I was at the table making arrangements for an upcoming business trip, and your mother was working on a puzzle.

From the corner of my eye, I could see you triumphantly present her with a slip of paper.

Assuming it was your check stub and that you were celebrating having earned enough money to cover your insurance bill and, therefore, able to keep driving, I thought nothing of it.

Despite my doubts, deep down, I knew you would make it. Although your procrastination is one of your more worrying traits, you have more than once shown that you can pull the rabbit out of the hat - even if it's a day or two late.

With your back to me, you could not see the smile spread across my face when I realized you'd handed your mother not a check stub but rather a plan for what you would do when (if!!!!) you graduate high school in May.

"What's this?" I thought to myself.

"WHO is this?"

"Did some other long-haired teenage punk in a Starbucks apron just walk into my house? Is he lost?"

I'm kidding, but only a little.

Planning for tomorrow - much less next month or next year - has never been your forte.

And I could see you were excited by it.

It was, as they say, palpable.

The room felt alive.

I walked over, expecting to see wild-ass ideas and vague notions of several possibilities, of which you were most interested in circumnavigating the globe after graduation in a balloon you would craft from the extra paper grocery bags sitting over there beside the dryer.

Or becoming President of Utah.

Or, you know, something like that.

Instead, you'd drawn out a timeline covering the next several years, including specific short-term goals.

And you had a plan for achieving them.

Again, I wondered if I was looking at someone else's kid. But when I saw your goofy "what do you mean? I ALWAYS do stuff just like this" smile, I knew it was you.

And I was proud of you.

Still, at the risk of turning this into a "my stepdad is a dumbass and always lectures me" moment, I have some advice.

It is simple.

But it is not easy.

That is an important distinction and one that is lost on a great many people who would have otherwise gone on to live extraordinary lives of happiness and abundance.

Remember, this is SIMPLE, but it damn sure ain't EASY.

In fact, for most, it is the hardest thing to do.

Are you ready?

Execute those plans, Jack.

GO AND DO IT.

Resist the urge to merely talk about it. As you strike out into the world to build your life, you will find that this is what most people do.

They talk a big game.

They make plans.

But the years go by, and they never do anything about it.

They never execute.

And those people, regrettably, will not live the life they choose; they will live the life that chooses them.

You and I may be unrelated by blood, but there is a trait I believe you inherited from me nevertheless.

You like to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want.

And you have that ability.

But only if you continue to make plans.

And, crucially, only if you execute those plans.

If you have never heard a single piece of advice I've given you, and if you never hear another, please hear this one thing.

Building a life you want is hard, but living a life you hate is exponentially harder.

Only you can build the life you want.

And you CAN do it.

If only you will plan.

And if only you will execute.