Three “Shock Absorbers” For Every Bump Along The Road To Your Dream Life

When you set out to accomplish anything worth having in life there will ALWAYS be bumps in the road. It’s never smooth sailing. (Nothing worth having ever is…)

But when you know what to look out for, he journey along that terrain becomes a LOT easier, so you accomplish what you wanted to faster, and the bumps are not nearly as bad as they would have been if you were like the majority of people, who buy into the lies that that there’s some easy well-paved road to success, then become defeated and quit at the first hiccup.

So here are three short things to remember that will act as your “shock absorbers” so that as you journey down the bumpy, uneven, and uncomfortable terrain to your dream life, it will feel more like you’re riding in a brand new Hummer, than in a rickety 1970 Ford Pinto.

#1: When You 
Go The Wrong Way

There will be times when you come to a fork in the road and, after a ton of deliberation, choose the wrong way. A great deal of time and money will be lost before you can correct your mistake. My advice?

Get over it.

The secret of planning an exceptional life or business is to budget both time and money for dealing with the truly unexpected — so that when it happens, your plan doesn’t fall apart.

When driving to the airport to catch a flight, we always allow an additional 15 minutes for a traffic jam. We have no way of knowing where the traffic jam will be, only that there’s likely to be one.

International business consultants Fox and Mancuso advise their clients, “In calculating rough costs for a product made overseas, add 20 percent to the cost of the product when it leaves the plant, wherever that is.” Notice that Fox and Mancuso don’t pretend to know exactly why the extra money will have to be spent. Only that it will.

Do you take “dead ends” into consideration in your planning? Or are you planning to do business and accomplish the life you want in a fake world? It’s impossible to forecast when problems will arise, but it’s fairly certain they will. Are you mentally prepared for them? Do you have the tenacity to persevere, or will you panic and throw your hands into the air, crying, “I didn’t plan on this!”?

#2: Letting The Sky 
Guide You To Success

You can search the world — but there will never be a sky so big as the one that covers the ocean. For twelve days, there has been nothing to see. I wait patiently until day’s end to ask my question, because I know the captain is a busy man.

Now staring at his silhouette against the star-studded skies of midnight, I anxiously await his answer. Framed in darkness, the shadowy captain points an inky finger upward and starboard and says to me,

“Polaris does not move.”

“But captain Columbus,” I respond quickly, “I don’t understand.” Never lowering his finger, the captain continues:

“Fools watch the waves and make decisions according to ever-changing circumstances. But a wise captain charts his course by a star which does not move.

When your journey is long and the way before you is rough, never take your eyes off the North Star, boy. Focus your vision on beautiful, unwavering, constant Polaris.”

Are you making decisions by the actions of the waves, or have you charged your course according to the principles and ideals you believe in? The waves come and go. Your principles are a permanent beacon — the only thing capable of truly guiding you.

#3: Advice From Joan Rivers

The late great Joan Rivers was once asked in an interview:

“Why does one performer become a living legend while other performers fade off the scene? What exactly is the difference between a star and a superstar?”

This one might seem unanswerable to most people, but most people are not Joan Rivers.

“That’s easy” said Joan:

“Most stars play it safe because they have too much to lose. Superstars are the ones who throw caution to the wind, improviser impulsively, go for the high note. Superstars give it everything they’ve got and hold back nothing at all.

In a word,” said Joan, ”The difference is guts.”

I’m convinced Joan Rivers was right.

How many times have we seen the favored ice skater come in second because she “played it safe” — and did the double-toe-loop instead of going for the triple? How many times have we seen a basketball team give up an insurmountable lead when they attempted to play it safe and tried to stall? How many times has a football team lost the game by retreating into a “prevent” defense? It appears to me that…

Playing It Safe Is 
About The Least Safe 
Thing You Can Do!

If you’d like an easy way to add value to peoples’ lives — or your own — don’t give them excuses to play it safe. Frankly, when people choose “the safe route” it’s sometimes a moment of weakness rather than an act of responsibility. Learn to tell the difference. And encourage people — and, of course, yourself — to go for the high note. Don’t be a tease. Attempt the triple toe loop.

Now does everyone who attempts the triple toe loop come from behind to win the gold medal? Nope. Sometimes they land in a heap on the ice. So what will it be? Will you go for the gold, or wonder what would have happened if you did?

The auditorium is dark. The audience is waiting. The spotlight awaits your arrival.

What are you going to do?