Setbacks are going to happen. They are a fact of life, you will not be able to avoid them, no matter how much you try to plan. They are setbacks, they are also unexpected. The most common thing I have in my life is my friends. As you move to new places in your life, it often means you don’t get to see those friends you had as much.
Today I want to cover another part of starting over: dealing with setbacks along the way. In the subject of starting over, most people forget this part of creating a new future. No matter what happened that forced you to start over, in this new life you are still going to have setbacks. You will still have things that stop you in your tracks and make you think.
It was 19 years ago next month that I had my biggest setback. It gave me the first big start-over I ever had to face. What happened was the fact I was told I had epilepsy. Doctors told me I had to find a new job because I was a truck driver at the time and my license was revoked as a result of the seizures. At 25 years of age, after preparing for your career you don’t want to hear that you’ve got to start over, get a new job. Even now my own daughter is having these setbacks in her life with health problems. We talked about this last week, about having hope in tough times. Well, we will all have tough times.
So what should you do when you have tough times? First, you should have a few back up plans – things to do in case your primary plan fails. How will you handle things if you cannot do them a certain way? Earlier in the week, I wrote about when Joan Jett’s band, the Runaways, come to a halt she didn’t stop believing in her dream. Instead, she just formed another band, and then when it took off she started her own label.
This time last year Bret Michaels was in the hospital with a brain hemorrhage. He was in critical condition, yet he forged ahead with his plans. I was able to see him play in concert,
and got the chance to meet his band after a show in Austin, Texas last summer. Do you think Bret has had a few setbacks in his life? He was one of the top bands of the hair band days of late 80s and his reality show on VH1, Rock of Love, was one of their top-rated shows. He was also part of the Donald Trump Celebrity Apprentice cycle when he got sick and ultimately went on to win it. Yet he faced setbacks that most people can’t imagine. In addition to the brain hemorrhage and accompanying strokes, he also has diabetes.
So whatever setback you are facing, let’s go back to day one of this week’s blog series and ask: is it worth starting over? Is it time to reform your dreams, take a step back and find a new way to reach those goals in life that you want to achieve? We get one chance to go through this life. If you have set a big dream up and know where you want to go this time, setbacks will be like speed bumps. You will slow down, go over the bump a little slower, but once you know you have passed it then you can get things back up to speed to reach that dream that you want to achieve.
Have you started to come up with the plan or the dream that is you? Have you found that passion that, no matter what the choice is, you will go through any setback and make the adjustments necessary to make your ultimate dream come true?
Tell me someone who does not know the word or name Disney? Think about it: Walt Disney had a dream so big they are still trying to create those things that he wanted to do in his lifetime – long after his death. A big dream will not be stopped; in Walt Disney’s case, even death didn’t even stop his dream. That is a powerful dream.
That’s it for today. I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach, and I’m telling you, it’s time for you to Live the life you always wanted, Love what you do and those around you. Let us help you be the RockStar in your world.
