Troy's Times - March 1st, 2005
Hi Friend! IN THIS ISSUE
“It is not important How we come to the events in our lives, but how we Deal with those events”- Troy
This week’s article: What goes around..
Think about all of the things that have happened in your life that make up who you are today. Have you ever had anything go so exactly right that you could only explain it as luck? Did you take advantage of the luck in the best way possible, or did you waste it? Have you ever had something devastating happen to you that has made you ask “Why me?” Did you find an answer to that question? Did you try? There are some children’s books that are called “Choose Your Own Adventure.” They take the reader along a plot line and then, at a key point, ask them to make a crucial decision about what they would do. Once the reader makes the decision, they turn to the page corresponding to that decision and learn their fate. That is kind of how I feel about life. There are numerous outcomes that are already written, but it is up to us to make the right choices. Let’s give it a shot. You’re Troy Evans. You move to a new town and have the choice of toughing it out until you can make new friends on the sports teams and in school, or you start doing bad things to make friends with the kids most available to you even though you know it is wrong. You chose the bad kids, turn to that page of the book and discover, oh bad luck, you will be an addict for most of your life. You get married and have a kid. Do you choose to use your family’s interventions to clean up your act and be a good husband and father or do you choose drugs? Sorry, the drugs page says that your wife leaves you and takes your son with her. Do you get sober or rob banks to feed a habit. You choose to rob several banks in the hopes of either getting another fix or getting killed. Bad luck again, you’re sent to jail to spend several years with yourself, thinking of every wrong that you’ve ever perpetrated against your family. But here is where it gets interesting. The plot line can change as soon as you start making good decisions. Once in jail, you choose sobriety over drugs, and gain clarity and a visit from your son who tells you that there is still hope. You choose to fight to educate yourself rather than serving dead time, and a scholarship fund from the National Speakers Association that was never intended for a person like you is opened up to you. You choose death over asking your family to smuggle drugs into the prison for you, and the guards come in at just the right moment. When all of your hard work is snatched away from you, you choose to start over rather than return to drugs and the life you fought your way out of, and you are told that you get to go home. And my favorite, you choose a life of speaking to make a difference in other people’s lives and, through the man who volunteers to be your mentor, you are introduced to the kind, beautiful, accepting woman whom you make your wife. There is just too much coincidence. The more I think about it and the more I talk to others about their experiences, the more I am convinced that when you are choosing the bad path, you can get only bad, when choosing the good path, good things are returned to you tenfold. How many sayings do we have about this exact same thing? You reap what you sew… What goes around comes around… Of course, it is important that you keep your eyes open because the punishments do not always happen right away and the good things are not always delivered in the best packages, but once you start making the right decisions, even the past returning to haunt you can be turned into a blessing. I received one such lesson a relatively short time after being released from prison. ........................................................................................................................................................... My first indication that something was wrong came as I opened up the front door upon returning home from the office. The contents of our hallway closet completely littered the walkway in front of me. Upon entering the other rooms in the house I discovered each room had every single drawer and cabinet pulled out and upturned. We had been burglarized. On that day, every single item of value belonging to me and my wife of two months was taken. TV, VCR, stereo, computer, printer, fax, silver settings handed down to my wife from her grandmother, and all of my wife’s jewelry, including things that were handed down from her grandparents and her parents. Things that could never be replaced. Every single thing of value that we owned was gone. In addition to the monetary loss, every single room in our home was ransacked, and it would be days before our home resembled anything close to the home we knew. Was I angry? I was very angry. Did I want revenge? Of course I wanted revenge, I wanted more than anything to get my hands on those who violated me, who had entered my space, who had taken from me. Two days later while sitting at my desk filling out insurance forms and compiling the list of what had been taken, I got to thinking about why it was that this happened to me. And it slowly became apparent to me. I had never been on this end. I had never been the one who had been violated, victimized or stolen from. You see it had always been me who had been the taker, me the thief, me the one who had victimized people. I never knew what it felt like to be the victim, to be violated and to feel taken advantage of. As I thought about this over the next several days I came to the conclusion that, like every other significant thing that had happened in my life, this too had a reason. I needed to feel this end of the equation. This was the final piece in the puzzle that brought me full circle from robber to victim. It emphasized the importance of my transformation. Slowly, I felt my anger dissipate and a peace replaced it. I had to feel that pain to know in my heart that I would never cause anyone that kind of suffering again. ............................................................................................................................................................ They say that hindsight is 20/20, but I think that if it is closely regarded, it can be used to create incredible foresight. Looking back, I feel as though everything that has ever happened to me has happened for a reason. I live my life today based on that. Call it fate, call it the hand of God, call it Karma or Kismet. Call it whatever you want, but take a good look at the lesson that is true in all. Good works produce rewards. If you put good out to the universe, good works, good choices, good vibes, whatever you want to call it, it will be returned to you. Have faith in that and you will not get lost.
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words from a recent client! Please note that my opinions in all sections are just that- my opinions. Feel free to disagree with them, argue them or dismiss them. As a professional speaker and author, I find that from time to time I offend or upset people. To this I say that I better be offending some people, otherwise I am not doing my job. By making people look at things they are not always comfortable looking at, I expect to ruffle some feathers and welcome your feedback at any time) Featured product for this issue! MY FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK- " From Desperation to Dedication: Lessons You Can Bank On"…Click
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Download a free chapter of my book, The 4th Chapter! Click here to begin! If you live in or near one of the following cities where Troy will be speaking over the next few months, please contact The Evans Groups for details on an opportunity that does not come around often- see Troy present for free!
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Note: You are free to reprint any portion of this electronic newsletter as long as the portion remains complete and unaltered, and the “About the Author” section is included. About the Author- Troy Evans is a professional speaker and author who resides in Phoenix, AZ with his wife Pam and his dog Archibald. Troy travels the country delivering keynote presentations, and since his release from prison has taken the corporate and association platforms by storm. Overcoming adversity, adapting to change and pushing yourself to realize your full potential- other speaker’s talk about these issues, Troy has walked them.
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