Before I publish another post here, I want to dispel any myths that I might have subtly created here. It hasn't been all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.
Part of hitting home runs is striking out a lot and I have gone down swinging in some colossal ways.
I have screwed up and screwed up monumentally at different stages of my life.
Like graduating from high school at the bottom of my class. Maybe not rock bottom but close enough that I could have jumped from where I was to the bottom and not hurt my ankles.
At my very first college band camp, I told one of my professors that the music department chairman was an asshole not realizing he was standing a foot behind me. That mistake took four years to remedy.
I agreed to a full-time teaching position, my first job, at poverty wages, so low that I qualified for food stamps. I'd like to have that mistake back.
I was fired.
I was divorced.
I was court date away from bankruptcy.
After being hit by a car at work, I was so in shock and denial that I pretended it didn't happen despite the fact that the rest of the day, I kept looking at my shredded suit pant leg and swollen bandaged knee. I paid the price physically and mentally for years.
So as you see, full disclaimer: I've made some mistakes.
Hopefully, you haven’t hit some of the low points that I did. If your life has been blissfully free of disappointment, scars, and regret, feel free to stop reading. But if you have ever felt like quitting or that it will never get better or maybe you are in the throes of self-doubt, keep reading.
I’ve got authentic news for you.
I'm here to tell you that you are going to make it.
Just like I did.
Well, maybe not exactly just how I did, but you're going to make it your way.
Because you're going to design a plan, build upon your skills, figure out exactly who you are and who you want to be. Along the way, you’ll discover a “new you”. Your “old you” will have a dream-like quality to it, just like my "old me" felt as I chronicled my past failures a few paragraphs ago.
Just as it was for me, it's not going to be an overnight process for you. It won’t easy.
But I'm here as a living proof for you that it can get better.
Let’s me be frank while you be earnest: It can get worse . . . . so let’s stay positive, OK? Let’s not worry too much about what might happen. No need to worry twice about something.
If things are good for you, take a moment to make them better for someone else. Write a check. Open a door. Pay for the coffee for that guy who’s standing behind you at Panera’s. If you are low on cash, pay a compliment. I guarantee that you, too, will find a “new you”.
These posts are a trail of bread crumbs that will always be here. They will always be a reminder of something you can do in both your 7.5 hour job and your 16.5 hour business day to gain more control over the elements and destiny of your professional and person life. And there is a lot we can control.
My proposal is that these suggestions might not be what you need but will trigger an approach that’s been germinating quietly in the back of your head or heart that you DO need.
When Life gets better, we celebrate. So, let's make a deal, you and I.
Somewhere down the road let's cue the sunshine, lollipops and rainbows - as well as a few good toasts with Macallan Sherry Oak 18 – and celebrate your “new you” as well as mine.
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