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In Frank Herbert's
classic book "Children of Dune" young
Leto Atriedes has to do what his legendary father could not and follow
the "Golden Path." Leto resisted it for a while and wanted to be
something else. However, he soon realized that it was his destiny and he
had to deal with the trials and tribulations of the path ahead. Often in
life we end up doing something we do not want to do, because we are
scared of the unknown path of what we do want to do. Having negative
family members and friends put your dreams down does not help either.
Moreover, pressure from
society to just go with the flow is hard to fight. Regardless, if you
want to lead a fulfilling life you have to be the master of your own
destiny. You don't want to have major regrets on your deathbed as many
people do. Starting the "Golden Path" is always hard. However, what can
be even more difficult are the tests that you will encounter along the
way.
Starting The Golden Path
Life has a way of making
sure that you are serious and committed before letting you achieve your
dreams. What will you do when everything goes wrong? What will you do
when your personal life falls apart? Will you persevere and grow? Or
will you throw in the towel and give up? If you want to persevere and
grow, then read on. Otherwise, just go back to watching the Jerry
Springer show.
Fifteen months ago I
decided to follow my "Golden Path" and dive head first into the
strength-training world. I had been in the high level sales world for
several years and had enough. I did well there, but it was not my
passion and each day that I avoided my true calling was another day in
which I felt my life energy dissipate. To my surprise, things moved very
fast and I got very excited. Being naﶥ,
I thought that it would always be like that and did not see the
hardships that would be coming my way in the near future.
Six months into the
business things started slowing down big time. No matter what I did, I
could not get things going. Fortunately, I had a lot of savings from my
previous jobs that kept me going during the lean times. Regardless, I
got to a point in which I wondered if I had made the right choice. A few
months later, things were still going pretty slow and my savings were
dwindling rapidly. The temptation was there to go back to the business
world and get a regular job to make all of the financial problems go
away.
After all, I was barely
making ends meet and did not want to go into debt. Around the same time
I acquired a really bad case of pneumonia. Over the course of several
weeks, my left lung became completely blocked with bacteria and pus. I
was in agony. Looking back, I realize that getting that horrible case of
pneumonia was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It
reminded me that life is short and that leaders seize the moment and
persevere no matter how bad the odds are. I swore that if I lived
through the experience, I would be 100% committed to making my dreams
come true and that I would never doubt myself again. Fortunately, I
pulled through.
By the time that I was
able to train again and start working, I only had seven dollars left in
my account. I was devastated to say the least. In addition, to being
physically weak, I barely had any money left. All of those voices of
doubt came right back. However, this time, I told them to go to hell. I
became more determined than ever to turn everything around. I jumped
back into training sensibly and built my strength back over the course
of a few months. In the meantime, I started writing and promoting
several workshops.
Coming Back
My first month back in, I
generated $2500 in profit. The next month, I made $3200 and then $3300
and then $3400. I have been making over $3400 ever since then and I am
sure that I will be making over $5000 a month before the end of this
year. I was back in a big way and things were going really well.
Opportunities were popping up left and right. My strength was going
through the roof and so was my confidence. Whenever things are going
that well, get ready for another test of your determination. That is
exactly what happened recently. The next dose came in the form of a
personal problem.
I am not going to go into
any details, but what happened hit me really hard. In fact, in many ways
it was much harder than the case of pneumonia that I experienced. I
became really angry and was consumed by my dark side. The hate kept
building and I felt like no end was in site. I could not think clearly
anymore and was heading on a path of self-destruction.
Normally, when I have
problems, I internalize them and try to deal with them personally.
Sometimes it works, yet most of the time it does not. The best that you
can do is block the problem out of your
mind. However, that is not really
dealing with the problem and you can be sure that it will stay in your
subconscious and surface again.
After watching a lot of
motivational movies such as "Antwone Fisher" and thought provoking
movies such as "American History X," I realized that I could not live
with the anger and the hate. Furthermore, I spoke to several people
about what I was going through and many of them could relate. Some
people took years of counseling to get past the experience and others
became alcoholics for years. Both options were unacceptable and I knew
that I had to face this problem head on and get past the anger and hate.
I realized that the hate
was towards myself more than anyone else. We all have an ego and a dark
side and although we need it for balance, when the scales are tipped and
we become consumed by it, it becomes too much to deal with. I did not
want to be someone who looked back later with regret or worse did not
take the opportunity to make things right while there was still time.
Life is short and it is too short to be full of hate and regret.
Fortunately, I made the right decision and made things right.
I am know more motivated
than ever to be a great leader and help others make their dreams come
true. The "Golden Path" is not always an easy one.
However, nothing worth
having in life is ever easy. When we struggle and suffer, we learn what
we are really made off and what we really want. Once we know what we
want and what we are willing to sacrifice to get there, we become
invincible. Legendary author Napoleon Hill once said, "The world has a
way of making room for people who know exactly what they want."
I finally understand what
he was saying. Don't be afraid of doing what you have always wanted to
do in life. If you have the right intentions and a noble purpose, a path
will be paved for you. Just be ready for the inevitable bumps that you
will come across and do not be too proud to get the help that you need
to carry forward. We all need to hear and be motivated by your story and
accomplishments.
See you on
the "Golden Path".
About The Author
Mike Mahler is a strength
coach and Senior RKC based in Santa Monica, Ca. He is also the author of
the DVD "Mahler's Aggressive Strength For MMA." Mike is available for
seminars around the US and overseas. Visit
www.mikemahler.com
for more info.
Other articles by Mike Mihler:
Bodywieght Exercises for Size & Strength
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