6 Key Points On Personal Struggle

Anyone confronting a large enough life change is going to have to do some life arranging. Nothing will teach you more about your core than a life changing fight. In health, in business, in family matters in sport, struggles make the person, the battle, the war. Here are six key takeaways about what personal struggle can teach you.

6. We're All Mental. When it comes to struggle, we all have our mental capabilities to pass the test. Whether you choose a fight or a fight chooses you, you are only human. Your mental attitude toward the struggle will beat you into the dirt or you will emerge to fight another day. The mental aspect leaves you clear enough to gauge the situation and overcome it. Too much mental anguish defeats you, not enough mental mettle causes fear and defeat. Up to you.

5. Call For Backup. The love and support of family and friends never fails. Getting through a struggle means circling the wagons and bringing in supportive people that know you, understand you and believe in your success with no reservations. No shame in asking for help- it makes you stronger.

4. Creation. Staying creative in the complexity of struggle is a testament to #6 and #3. Your ability to remain adaptive and open to solutions, even if they seem far fetched, gives you a whole new set of tools to win. Sometimes, you just have to invent a solution and pave your own road.

3. Evolution. Being able to stretch past your former or present boundaries means changing who you are a little or a lot. A struggle presents you with a 50/50 chance of getting beat or working hard enough to win the struggle.
The little steps you take toward winning eventually pile up and you evolve into the mindset of a winner. The struggles themselves do not cease, your ability to rise above them does. Little steps=eventual success.

2. You Have to Walk That Road All By Yourself. At age 12, sitting with my Dad in our basement, talking about his career as a carpenter, he gave me this bit of wisdom. He tended to work about 70 hours a week in hard Norther Pennsylvania winters and summers. Physical labor, privation, long commutes to job sites and dealing with all sorts of characters made him one tough hombre. He turned to me and said he couldn't fight my battles for me. Not that he wouldn't or did not care to, but in life, it was up to me to face my struggles. Point taken and never forgotten.

1. Stay On Offense But Survive. In survival mode, you are not taking ground, you are in most likelihood, giving ground to survive. Do what the game plan calls for, survive by all means, but get in there and take some ground.

Share your thoughts and experiences with struggle- I would like to see some inspiration. Have a safe and fun holiday!

The Emperor's New Throat

One of the truly annoying side effects of cancer radiation on my neck was the toll it took on my throat, voice and salivary glands. As I slowly paddle out of the rip-tide of treatments, my croaky voice and choked up throat are in need of some healing. If you didn't know it was me calling you on the phone, you would think I was somebody's drunk grandfather. Slurring and hoarsely attempting to dialogue, I sound more like a prank caller than an actual dude trying to say what what.
Oh it will pass, but for a minute, I'm going to confuse a whole lot of folks with this disguise. If I didn't know what I was saying, I couldn't pick up enough whispered syllables to comprehend direction or intent. Especially after the long, tortured dust-dry coughs between barely audible words. What comes across is a vulgar sort of neo-geezerism. The poor medical assistant at my doctors struggled through my heinous rasp-o-phone yesterday. Bless her, she finally figured it out. I really appreciate the patience of others in these croaky chokey times.

I am imbibing Magic Mouthwash to soothe and cool my lava-fired pipes. The MM is supposed to ease the feelings of razor blades and barbed wire that describes my esophageal lining. That's what I was calling the doctors for, some kind of relief for the wildfire and pinched pipes. The charred remnants of my once golden tones will return some bright sunny day, but now them tubes are stone dry, snake scaly and zombified. I used to do commercial voice-over work. Glad I don't have to put bread on the table now with my scuttled squawker.

Now it's me, the morning and a little Magic Mouthwash to start the day off right. To those about to choke, I salute you!

You can always e-mail or text, just don't have me call you on your shiny Curve or iPhone with this franken-voice. Wouldn't mind hearing your comments though!

Checking e-bay now for an emperors' new throat with refurbished pipes and warbler. Wonder how much to ship it overnight?