Something to live by....

This email may change the way you look at things.

You probably heard this from me before, but I rarely listen to music in my car - I usually listen to audiotapes of some sort. (mostly motivational stuff.. stuff that 'exercises my brain') Well I just listened to this story that everyone should hear - About 25 years ago this guy called W. Mitchell was driving his motorcycle on the freeway, and for whatever reason he got distracted by something on the side of the road.

When he looked back up he found he was about to crash right into a big truck that was stopped in front of him.  So in a split second decision he smashed his motorcycle on the ground and slid himself under the truck.  But then the worst part happened.. the gas cap slipped off the truck, and the truck exploded into flames while W. was underneath it.

He survived, but his body was 75% burnt and his entire face was mutilated.  He woke up 2 weeks later out of a coma in extreme pain. He even mentioned at the time he was "afraid to breath" because he was in so much pain.

Now for MOST people, this would be too much..

MOST people would think "Forget this, why stick around in this body?"

He did something different - he decided to take things for what they were and be in the utmost positive attitude for the rest of his life.  His bodily systems were actually so damaged that he could not take any drugs.. but everyone that met him THOUGHT that he was on drugs as he was so uplifting all the time.

The reality is, after his accident W. Mitchell made a DECISION to manage his state. So he can stay positive no matter what.  He said: "I can feel bad emotionally about everything I lost, and just make my life a mess.. .. or I can focus on what I am going to DO. This way my focus will be on something that can give me at least a little bit of pleasure to distract me from my physical pain."

And that's what he did. Within 3 years he managed himself so well that he started his own business.

Shortly after that his company became the #1 employer of his state. He even became a millionaire, and learned how to fly airplanes. BUT.. that's not the end of the story.

About 8 years later he was flying his airplane through Colorado, and he made a big mistake.  He forgot to do his preflight checkup, and because there was frost on the wings he crashed shortly after taking off.

He survived again, but he was paralyzed from the waist down for life.

So they cut off his toes (since he didn't need them anymore), and they sowed them on his hands so he had something to grasp with.

And to top it off, not too long after his crash his wife left him..

STILL, he didn't give up.

The city he was living it at the time was having some problems, so he became the mayor of that town.  After that, he ran for lieutenant-governor of the state of Colorado.  He placed third (out of 6 people), but what was remembered most was that his slogan was "make me the lieutenant governor and I won't just be another pretty face!"

So next time you hear yourself thinking you have some 'problems'.. then think of W. Mitchell.

The point that I'm trying to make here is that there is no such thing as a handicap.

No matter how hard you may have it, your worst day is someone else's dream come true.

There's a guy called Dave Kekich and he has a credo that is one of my personal favorite quotes. "Things are rarely as bad as they seem when things are going bad.. and things are rarely as good as they seem when things are going good.. if you just lighten up, you will live much longer"

So next time something gets in your way, do yourself a favor and don't complain. Accept it for what it is and realize what you do have.

Hope you got something out of this little email - just remember, that at ANY given moment of the day you have endless opportunities laying right in front of you!

Keeping it real =)

Enjoy!

Greg