Good Tuesday morning to you. As we are going through the week’s road trip topic, I am on my own road trip headed back home. Tonight I stopped in the town of South Bend, Indiana. If you know anything about that town you know it is the home of Notre Dame University. I’m staying with a friend here and we went to dinner across the street from the campus. It made me think of today’s subject: are you prepared for your journey?
Last summer I took a motorcycle road trip to the west coast. It was by far one of my favorite trips. I was told the Pacific coast highway is a great road for riding a motorcycle up the west coast line. I was on my trip in late July. When planning for the trip, I packed all the riding gear I thought I would need for that time of year. Well, I rode out to Los Angeles, spent a few days there, then went up to the central California coast to spend a week at a rented house with family. The day I left Los Angeles, I took Route 101. It was the first chance I had to see the Pacific Ocean and on this late July day the temperature was so cold I stopped and put on the warmest clothing I had. I was freezing. When I prepared for this trip, because it was late summer, I did not pack a warm coat or insulated pants. I never thought I would need them.
So you may think you know what you are in for on this journey called life, but do you really know for certain? A famous quote I remember hearing in a movie once from an older man who was about to die. He was talking to his young son who was a slow learner at his bedside. The father tells the son “I’m about to go on a long journey from which I will not return.” The son asks “Have you prepared for this journey, father?”
As Christians we ask that all the time about death: “have you prepared for the journey?” But many Christians stop their journey right at the point of becoming a Christian. They feel that since they have prepared for the last journey, they do not need to prepare anymore. Well you still need to prepare for the road trip you have on this earth. Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.
So what can you do to prepare for your road trip called life? Yesterday, you talked about where you are, and where you want to go. How do you connect those two dots and prepare for your road trip called life? I’ve got some tips.
Change what you are putting into your mind. It’s time to recondition your mind. Do this by reading books and studying information that will prepare your thinking to work towards where you want to go. Stop wasting time watching and reading those things that are not helping you reach the goals you want in life.
Use your spare time wisely. In preparing for this road trip of life, to actually move from where you are to where you want to be, you need to take the time you are not using for the commitments you already have. Use the spare time to take care of things like learning the skills you need to get to your goal.
Use your associations, the people you meet, to build a network that will bring you to the next goal or stage in your life journey. In the biker world, we say “make it a group ride.” Life is more fun when you share it and some of the best times are spent with those people who share the same dream and will work together with you to make it happen.
So what are you going to do to prepare for your life journey? Life is a road trip and you know where you are, you know where you want to go. Have you prepared for the journey to get there? Take some time today and make a list of what you will need to take the journey you want your life’s road trip to be.
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s your time to Live the life you always wanted, Love what you do and the journey you are on. I’m here to help you become a RockStar in your world. Just let me know how I can help you.
