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HAVE YOU SEIZED A DAY LATELY?
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 FACE
YOUR ENEMIES
by Vince Purino
Friday, April 1st, 2005, 10:55pm
Laval, Québec, Canada
Posted with author's
permission
First of all I
do not pretend to be anyone of
great knowledge or wealth or one of shockingly profound thoughts. I guess I
can say that I’m just an ordinary guy who recently turned 40. Now when you
reach your fourth decade you begin to wonder about the next half of your
life and how you would have changed the first four decades. Some people say
they have no regrets and to a point I agree. But there are things that I
might have changed if I could be one of those strapping heroes who could go
back in time with some funky car/time machine deal. So let’s take this
further. I’ll be the Kill Bill assassin with my hit list. And me and my
black striped yellow motorcycle outfit are out to eliminate the things that
shall we say, held me back. I now draw my sword and go back in time to face
my enemies:
Enemy # 1: Fear of Failure…aka
The Viper
Now if there was one thing I would have done more as a twenty something, I
would have taken more risks. I have started businesses and have failed. I
have had numerous relationships ( ranging from dates to marriage) and have
failed. I have attempted marathons and have failed. Now that the dust from
the battlefield of life has settled, I still stand. I still enjoy life. I am
still chasing a dream. All this to say that screwing up is not bad. In fact
it is part of enjoying life..part of bringing passion to everything that I
do. It’s that silly no pain, no gain thing. Be more comfortable in failing!
I presently have a new business that is flourishing, I will be running my
3rd marathon this spring, and I am on the brink of meeting my soulmate. If I
had failed more, I’d have more businesses, I’d have run more marathons, and
yes I would have dated more supermodels…you get the gist. Fail, it’s
healthy.
Enemy # 2: Fear of Debt…aka The
Green Hornet
Now I am no financial genius. And I’m not advising anyone to go into debt. I
do advise for people to take on good debt. As an eighteen year old , I wish
I had read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. If you haven’t read it ,
read it. If anything it will make you think. Now back to the debt thing.
Recently, I had the unfortunate experience of watching my ex-father in law
die of Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is a particularly insidious way to die,
because your brain is fully lucid . You are fully aware of your
surroundings, just that your body stops to function, and your lungs fail. As
he lay there on his death bed, all I could think of was what was he
thinking? What achievements was he proud of? What was really important in
his life? I guarantee you this, it was not the fact that he paid every
single bill on time. Think about it. Nuff said.
Enemy # 3: Fear of The Gym…aka
The Fat Cow
In my second long term corporate job, I found myself strapped for time. I
was recently married, had started a second business and had a stressful 9 to
5 cubicle assignment to deal with every day. Before that period of my life,
I was always active and in fairly good shape. Two years into the corporate
thing I realized that I had not set foot in a gym. Sadly we had one , right
inside the company. I was at that point of my life that I could have gone
two ways. The way of the Cow or the way of the Dragon. Enter my buddy Gio. A
loud Italian guy who liked to compete. He was in worst shape than I was!
Only Gio’s bravado could get me into the dreaded corporate gym. “Let’s start
with a hundred sit ups!” he would say…and we did 15. The next day we did 10.
But on the third day we did 25! After the 2nd week Gio quit. I didn’t. I
plan on doing my first Olympic Triathlon this summer. Don’t go the way of
the Cow…it would have been very easy and comfortable for me to still be
there. And at 40, that sh*t catches up to you. Find your Gio!
Enemy # 4: Fear of The Unknown….aka
Casper the Ghost
After a failed marriage, I was in a rut. Life had become flat. Like a warm
ginger ale. I was at the point of just existing. At 40 your become more
sensitive to the fact that the most precious commodity that you have is
time. Wasting it is not just a crime, it’s a sin. So I like, like any other
warm blooded Canadian/American ( I’m kind of both) took up…that’s
right….salsa dancing. It sounded like a good idea. I could master the art of
latin dancing and the single female world would be at my beck and call. Well
it did not work out that way. In fact , I spent most of the initial classes
looking down at my partner’s feet that I would regularly crush attempting
that cool move the latino he-man instructor had just shown us. Bear in mind
that these are the feet of complete strangers that I was trying to impress.
Humiliating yes. But the first person’s feet I crushed led to the first
meaningful relationship after my marriage. That salsa course led me to a
bartender’s course. That bartender’s course led me to start Restobar Elite,
a flourishing placement agency in Montreal. So get out of your rut, crush
more peoples feet. You never know, you could make a few bucks out of it!
So there you have it. My two cents. If anyone can use any of this, great. If
not, flush it. My job is done. Now all I have to do is take this silly
yellow motorcycle outfit off. Hai!
FACE YOUR FEARS.
LIVE YOUR DREAMS.
MORE:
HAVE YOU SEIZED A DAY LATELY?
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