Reader,

For the past 35 years, Disney's Little Mermaid has delighted kids of all ages. It features captivating characters, mesmerizing colors, and a soundtrack that set the bar for a generation of kids' films. And that's to say nothing of Ariel, its precocious heroine who dares to dream big and is rewarded with a spectacular happily ever after ending.

But are you familiar with the original version of the mermaid's tale?

Published in 1837 by famed author Hans Christian Andersen, that story had the same premise as the Disney adaptation: a mermaid trades her voice for a pair of legs so she can win the heart of a prince.

More than that, she gains the ability to dance with unparalleled beauty and grace. However, that gift comes at a cost: it's excruciatingly painful for her to dance. Every step, every sauté, and every twirl make her feel like she's wearing sharpened knife blades on the bottom of her feet.

Despite this unbearable pain, the mermaid catches the prince's attention and favor. He is exceedingly pleased by her dancing and asks her to perform frequently. So she continues to dance, suffering in silence and clinging to the hope that she's earning his love.

But in the end, the prince chooses to marry another woman. Distraught but powerless, the mermaid returns to the sea, where she dissolves into sea foam.

For those of us conditioned to expect a "happily ever after" ending, Andersen's tale is profoundly unfulfilling. Because even if we've outgrown the childish cartoon versions of this philosophy, their lessons are still deep within us.

Consider this question: what "happily ever after" is driving your life right now? Is it ...

• When you make a certain amount of money?
• When you find the romantic relationship you're burning for?
• When you gain a certain title or notoriety?

The sobering truth is that so many of us are driven by these (and other) external things, believing that they will finally deliver the fulfillment and meaning our hearts and souls long for.

But that's not true.

​As I said last week, the first step towards living a life with no regrets is to reject this "happily ever after" philosophy. And I don't say that because you need to grow up and accept reality.

I say that because you were made for something far greater and far beyond these cheap visions of "happily ever after."

You don't need to become part of another world or social sphere or inner circle to find fulfillment or purpose. Those "achievements" will never satisfy that longing in your heart.

Instead, when you become YOU – fully YOU, the YOU God created you to be – then you can taste the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

You are loved.

I'm for you.

You've got this.

Jake