Just A Bump In The Road

Just a Bump In The Road

I've been using different quotes for my topics this week and today I'd like to share one that my 19 year old son, Jordan came up with the other night:

"The past is just a bump in the road to the future." - Jordan Spillman

Not bad, huh? Now, if he can just make sure that he remembers that in his young life he will be
WAY ahead of many others as they go through the "bumps" along the way!

You've likely heard this before: "Your past DOES NOT determine your future!"

And, even though you have "heard" it -- did you really HEAR it to the point of letting it sink in?

No matter WHO you are, no matter WHERE you've been and no matter HOW BADLY you've "messed up" you MUST remember that "the past is just a bump in the road to the future"!

And, yes, I know there are those of you out there that have messed up REALLY badly and you very likely may be paying the consequences of your actions for a very long time. But, you STILL have the ability to change the course - the path - of your future!

You see, that is what is MAGICAL about each day! There is found the TRUTH behind the thought that you can TURN each day AROUND! It is also what is so exciting when you consider that TODAY (and every day) is WIDE OPEN for you! And who in the world would NOT be THANKFUL for such wonderful opportunities each and every day?

As always, it's up to you!

You can sit on the side of "the road" on the journey to your future and cry out, "Woe is me!" while staying put OR you can correct the problem and move on down the road to your destination!

What will you do?

Will there be more bumps along the way? I can answer that with a very definite, "YES!".

But, as long as we keep on moving those bumps will soon be nothing but a distant memory of the journey to our goals and dreams.

And, never forget to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Conclusion: KEY INGREDIENT in Recovery

The KEY INGREDIENT/PRINCIPLE

in Recovery from Unwise Decisions

All along I have been hinting at this "key principle" and today I will reveal it for those that find themselves suffering the consequences of making stupid decisions.

Our prisons are full of men and women - young and old alike - that are living with the consequences of stupid decisions. Yes, this is an extreme example, but it is a truth that we cannot ignore.

Think about this as well - apparently the possibility of serving prison time has not been that much of a deterrent for those on the verge of making a stupid decision. And, due to that lack of clear thinking - most of our prisons are overcrowded.

Let's look at this situation for a moment. After all, some of the examples that we used in our first podcast/blog entry dealt with some that either ARE spending time in prison or MAY be spending time in prison before it's all over. So, what happens with them now?


They have lost a lot of valuable time in their future as an athlete and may or may not be able to return to their career. Even those that MAY return will NEVER be the athlete that they were BEFORE making that unwise choice - that's just a fact of life and our physical bodies. They WILL have a record which will always be a part of their life history and will ALWAYS be something that potential employees will know about and want to get more information about.


The last part in the above paragraph will be true for anyone - athlete or not - that has served time in prison. This will also be true: there will be many people that will prejudge them due to the fact that they have been in prison.


Is this fair? It really doesn't matter if you think it is fair or not - it is another fact of life. And, honestly, it is an extended part of the consequences that come from making an unwise decision. "But I've paid my debt to society!" Yes, that may be true, but the consequences from unwise decisions can linger long past the time frame that we would wish.

Now then - for others that may not be spending prison time but still are feeling the hurt and pain of the consequences of making stupid decisions the road may be just as long. You may have lost your job, completely destroyed your relationship with your family and/or even lost your health due to an unwise decision.

Here's the thing for anyone and everyone that find themselves stinging from the consequences...you CAN make amends, but consequences will come and they WILL be paid!


You can say, "I'm sorry" - you can pay back money - you can serve prison time - but you can NEVER go back and undo what has been done. That, my friend, is an impossibility.


That's why it is SO important for all of us to think clearly BEFORE finding ourselves in a situation that will be controlled by emotions --- what happens next can NEVER be undone!


What then? Are you done? Finished? Worthless? Should you just "throw in the towel" and not even try now that your life seems to be ruined? If you feel that you have lost everything - is there any reason to try to improve or should you just let go and follow the path of least resistance?

It's up to you. It's YOUR choice. No one can make this decision for you, but it IS a decision that you WILL make. Yes, "doing nothing" IS a choice.


So, are you ready to find out the KEY PRINCIPLE that anyone in this situation MUST FOLLOW if they desire to live a productive, positive and successful life even AFTER making a stupid decision that has cost them dearly?

Here it is: "Understand that this is NOT the end!"

Hey, again, if you follow me regularly you know that I like to make things simple. The wording and the length of the sentence makes this KEY PRINCIPLE appear to be simple - but it's not as simple as it may appear!

One that finds themselves in this situation will have to fight, scratch and claw every step on the way to instill the positive influences necessary into their minds and then implement them into their lives. Negativity will want to rule and ruin your life - BUT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CANNOT SURRENDER AND GIVE UP! This is NOT the end!

"As long as there is breath there is HOPE!" - See how important this quote is?

A quote from Jim Rohn really has great significance in this situation as well: "The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become."

Now, I know this may sound a little silly to some, but think about it - especially if you find yourself in this situation... You now have the chance to start all over again! This CAN even be an exciting time for you if you approach it in this way!

YES, now you MUST go back and look at what I have covered in this series of discussions and realize that you now must approach things in a whole different way.

In other words - YOU MUST CHANGE! And that means you must change pretty much everything! You must change the so-called friends that you had in the past. You must change the places where you spent your time before. You must change your attitude and your mindset. YOU must change YOU!

If you don't then NOTHING will change for you and your life!

So now, wherever you are - you must "re-map" your life and decide where you want your life to go and how you want your "new life" to look! Along with that you MUST make decisions EARLY as far as what that means for your life!

This part - making decisions EARLY - is the part that tells you just change your environment as I discussed a couple of paragraphs earlier. Decide NOW how important it is for you to transform your life!

Will this be easy? Likely not.

Is this impossible? NO, it is not!

But is IS up to you!

And, believe it or not, there are many people that are willing to help you make the right steps along the way. Oh, you may never even meet these people - but through their books, podcasts and other materials you can gain GREAT strides in moving in the right direction.

Remember: "THIS IS NOT THE END!"

And, think about this - I close with this little quote every day...but now think about how important it is IF you are one that must begin rebuilding their life....it all happens one day at at time. So...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Decisions: "What If?"

Part 4: "Decisions: What If?"

I hope that this series has been beneficial for you - I know it is always helpful for me to revisit these thoughts and ideas for my own life. Why? Because we ALL - including myself - are susceptible to making unwise choices!

Each of us has the tendency to "get off course" from time to time and not follow the map we have plotted out for where we want to go.

Getting off course does not mean that we must give up!

Think about that and use the "travel and map" scenario that I have been using during this discussion. If you discover that you have taken a wrong turn on your journey (hey, men NEVER get lost - we just get temporarily turned around from time to time!) what do you do?

Imagine someone in that situation saying to his wife, "Well, we took a wrong turn and there's nothing we can do about it. We're stuck here and there's nothing we can do about it. So, wherever it is that we are right now - this is our new home whether we like it or not!"

The response: "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

Question: if you wouldn't do that in the scenario described then why would you do that with your life - something far more important than a trip in an automobile?

No, we would not do what is described above, would we? We would simply look at the map, try to figure out where we took the wrong turn (a very important step, especially for our lives) and then figure out how to get back ON the right course. Then, we follow our new plan to get back on course with our original plan.

It's really pretty simple to see when you look at it that way, isn't it?

Yet, it's not so easy in real life, is it?

It's NOT easy but, also remember - it's NOT impossible to recover from making STUPID decisions! It's hard to do and a lot of people will do all they can to convince you to give up (the negative forces will be working overtime on you!), but you CAN do it if you are determined to do so.

But, WHAT IF?

Let's stick to the same scenario that I've been using so far....WHAT IF you had never taken that wrong turn? Would there be a need to try to figure out what went wrong? Would you be stuck on the side of the road somewhere that you had not planned to be? Would you have to re-figure a way to get back on track? NO!

So it is with making poor choices and decisions. Each of us can go back - if we really want to figure this out - and find a point that can cause us to ask ourselves, "WHAT IF?".

Here's an excellent example about the first situation I discussed on Monday's podcast and on Monday's blog about the college football player seemed to make one bad decision after another. It's about the "what if" factor in his life. If you would, finish reading this blog and then click the link and go to the story - but here it is:

http://www.thefootballexpert.com/mauriceclarettwhatif080001.html

Here's the thing - we ALL make mistakes and will continue to make them as long as we live. HOWEVER, we CAN limit the situations that cause us to ask, "WHAT IF?".

Living a life full of "what ifs" is no way to live and it is no way to progress toward your goals and dreams.

----- We are coming closer to the conclusion of this discussion so be sure to join me back here for the next installment. Thank you for listening and/or reading and I'd appreciate any feedback that you may have. You can either comment directly on this blog OR send me an e-mail at: mike@futureyouuniversity.com

Thanks again and, always remember...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

A Sneak Peek at an Upcoming Topic

(next week, as a matter of fact!)

I wanted to give you a "heads up" on something that I will be discussing on my podcast as well as posting on my blog entries next week. I'm not sure how many episodes/entries will be involved - we'll just "play that by ear".

But, for sure, on Monday, January 18th, I will be talking about some things that have been in the headlines - especially in the sports world - recently.

No, this won't be "sports commentary" - that's not what this is about. I won't even be naming the names of the people involved even though you will be very familiar with some of the stories.

But I guess here's what has caused me to decide to talk about some of these things:

STUPID DECISIONS CAN RUIN A LIFE!

It doesn't mean that your life has to be ruined for ever. It doesn't mean that a person cannot have a successful and productive life AFTER being involved in some stupid decisions (aren't we all glad for that?).

But it just seems that lately - by lately, I mean even over the past 5 or 6 years - there have been so many young men involved in making really stupid decisions that will impact them for many years to come, if not for the rest of their lives.

Here's what I ask of you in advance - LISTEN TO THE PODCAST(S)! Then, if you feel it worth sharing I really ask that you share it with some young people that you know - perhaps even your own children.

Just think about the impact that you can help me have - you and me together - by sharing this information with just one or even two young people that you know (yes, even young adults!). Especially when you consider the possibility of several of you doing this and then not knowing what they may do with it or who they may share it with.

Remember the ripples on the pond?

So, be sure to join me for this "at-least-one-day" special podcast. I have a feeling it will spill over into more than one day.

As always, thanks for being here!

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike