When I was a kid all I wanted to do was play quarterback.
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers were heroes in the state. When you’re a kid you see people for the good things they do and you want to be those people and do all those same good things and more.
When I was 13 I finally had the chance to play tackle football. Things got off to a good start, but during one of the first few practices I got hit in the lower back area with a helmet. I felt a little twinge and after that I had trouble walking and doing certain things. The pain was coming from what seemed like deep in my lower back. It wasn’t constant, but it would feel like a shot in the nerves once in a while like when you get a shot in your gums at the dentist.
I went to the doctor and they found out that I had two stress fractures in one of my vertebra. I had to wear a plastic brace around my torso for the rest of the fall and winter, but the big blow was when the doctor recommended that I not play football anymore…forever.
So I’m 13 years old. I’ve loved football my entire life. I start out well playing quarterback and then my “career” is over.
That was a tough pill to swallow at the time. I probably fought it a little bit. When you’re a kid you’re not thinking too far into the future.
A Blessing In Disguise
Looking back now it seems like not playing football was a blessing. I probably would have gained a lot from being on those teams, but I avoided serious injury. I completely healed. I never really suffered any other injuries in other sports like knees and brain injuries.
And after that year I spent more time golfing and that turned into something I still love today. I wasn’t really good, but was good enough to play on the high school team. I’m not sure if I could have done that without having football on my mind.
Everybody Has A Plan
I feel like I definitely have some Type-A in me. I’m not sure I’m fully on that side of things, but I like a plan. I like routine. I like knowing what’s coming in the future.
I like creating plans. Back when I was 13 the plan was to be quarterback of the high school team and see where that went. I doubt I would have went beyond that, but when you’re a kid you have dreams.
Then after one hit that plan completely changed.
If you have a little Type-A in you, and if you’re a business owner or involved in business you probably do, then you’ve probably had a plan or two that have been completely squashed.
I was thinking about this today a little bit. Lots of things in my life have not gone to plan. But for each thing that changed something new always came along and often those new things were more rewarding than I could have imagined. The new things have often been better than my original plans.
Ghost Blog Writers is an example. I had a plan to start a social networking site. That didn’t pan out and I had some extra time so I started blogging. Then Ghost Blog Writers turned into my full-time business.
Roll With It And Adapt
I think planning is good. But I’ve learned that you have to be able to adapt and accept change. You can dwell on bad things in life because there are always opportunities in every situation.
There is an old Garth Brooks song called Unanswered Prayers. It’s a little spiritual for me, but the message of the song is a really good one. It’s about having a plan and having that plan not pan out. But instead you get something much better.
It’s the same thing I’m talking about here in this post. I recognize that it’s happened in my life many times. I like having a plan, but when it comes to what I think I want in life I’m sometimes (maybe often) wrong.
And that’s okay. I try to make the best of any situation and it seems to work out pretty well both in business and in my personal life.