That begs the question, “What would you do if you won a multi-million dollar lottery jackpot?”  Would you continue to work?  Would you work for a little while and then retire or would you tie your resignation letter to a rock and throw it through your boss’ window on your way to the bank?

Please take this short poll and let us know what you would do.

Be blessed.

PS: Feel free to expand on your poll response in the comment section below.

Me, as evil pro wrestling manager "Dr. Thom Parks."

I have a story to share with you. It take place in the crazy, hype-filled world of professional wrestling.  While the events I’m about to describe were enacted for entertainment purposes, the lesson that came out of it is very, very real.  Now, on with the story.

THE STORY:

It was 2001 and I was working as a “bad guy” pro wrestling manager for a small promotion in Phoenix Arizona.

The big news in the promotion, at that time, was the brewing feud between Western States Wrestling commissioner C.C. Starr (beloved fan favorite) and his “brother” Matt “Starrman” Starr.  This feud had been building for several months and was about to come to a head in a special grudge match. The stipulations were simple. If C.C. won, he would win Matt’s championship belt. On the other hand, if Matt won, C.C. would have to retire from professional wrestling.

On the night of the event, Matt had a special surprise. He had convinced the promoter to replace the regularly assigned referee with former referee turned manager…me!  The crowd hated that because they were just sure I was going to cheat to help Matt win, but I didn’t…at least not at first.

For most of the match, I called it fair and square.  Then it happened.  Starrman’s friends surrounded the ring and one of them threw a steel chair to me.  I took the chair and hit C.C. across the back of the head. Unfortunately, it was a glancing blow and didn’t do any damage, thus causing C.C. to turn his attention to me.  As C.C. was pummeling me, I dropped the chair and Matt picked it up and did a better job of hitting the valiant WSW hero.  C.C. hit the canvas like a ton of bricks.  Quickly, Matt covered him and I counted the fastest pinfall in the recorded history of the world.  C.C. had lost and now must retire.

As soon as the bell sounded, I scooted out of the ring and headed toward the safety of the dressing room.  This crowd was very angry…especially at me! C.C. was in the ring telling the crowd how much he loved them and enjoyed performing for them.  People were crying. It was something else.

When I got to the dressing room, I was met, at the door, by a little girl. She was probably 7 or 8.  She was crying hard and tears were just rolling down her face.  She looked up at me and asked, “How could you do that to C.C.? It wasn’t fair.”

Without breaking character I said to her, “Life’s not fair! Get used to it!”

THE LESSON:

Before you decide that I’m a jerk and tune me out, please keep in mind that the events that took place in the ring were for entertainment purposes and the lesson I gave that little girl, no matter how coldly delivered, was the honest-to-goodness truth.  Life is not fair! It has never been fair and it never will be. The faster you come to terms with that reality, the happier and more successful you can be.

In life, many people try to find some way to force life to be fair and get frustrated and defeated when it isn’t.  That’s a destructive path that never leads to success and happiness. There will always be people who start off with more than you do. There will always be people who seem to have an easier time than you do.  It’s a part of life. Lear to accept it, but…

DON’T BE DISCOURAGED!

You may be thinking, “Tim, this article sure is a downer.”  It doesn’t have to be.  While it’s true that life is not fair and there are no guarantees, there are always opportunities. The key is to make the most of the opportunities which come your way.

You see, if life came with guarantees and success was easy for everyone, there would never be a feeling of achievement and success would, in turn, mean very little.

In order to be successful in life you must:

• Accept that life is not fair.
• Face the fact that there are no guarantees; only opportunities.
• Prepare to make the most of the opportunities when they appear.
• Take action to make your dreams come true.

As I’ve said so many times, life is not fair, but it can be awesome! Take responsibility for your own life and make it the way you want it to be.

Be blessed,

As a Christian, I know that today is the holiest day of the year and it’s not one that I (and most other Christians) take lightly.  In fact today commemorates the events that are the founding of our faith, but you don’t have to be Christian to find something almost magical about today.

Most cultures see this time of year as a reminder of the renewal of life.  In pre-Christian times, the season was celebrated for that very reason.  Plants, long dormant through the winter, were now renewed and covered in color again.  Birds were laying eggs and giving birth to a new generation. In short, life was renewed.

In the Jewish faith the celebration of Passover marks God’s angel passing over the children of Israel when unleashing the tenth (and most horrible) plague on Egypt, which lead to the Children of Israel escaping their slavery and bondage in Egypt.  For them, it was a new life and a new start.

Of course, in the Christian faith, today marks the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A few days earlier, Jesus had been beaten, tormented and crucified upon the cross.  His followers and denied him and they watched him die.  With the gasping of his last breath, their hopes and dreams were crushed and they fell into despair and defeat, but that all changed on that Sunday morning.  On that day, the stone was rolled away and the Blessed Master was no longer in the tomb.  He had paid the wages of sin and allowed for man to be reconciled with God, thus giving all of mankind a second chance.

No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, today is a day of opportunity for you.  It doesn’t matter what your life has been up until now.  Today can be the day that you start anew.

If your past haunts you, get over it! You’re not that person anymore!  Be the person you are today.

If you feel that there is something lacking in your spiritual life, make today the day you resolve it.

If you are not living up to your own expectations, make today the day you turn that around.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you it will be easy; nothing worthwhile is ever easy, but it’s worth it.

It’s not easy bringing new life into this world (my wife has told me this).  It wasn’t easy for the Children of Israel to escape Egypt and wander in the desert.  It certainly wasn’t easy for Jesus to face crucifixion on the cross.  Great, positive change is NEVER easy, but it’s worth it.

One of my favorite quotes from the Bible is a snippet from Luke 24:5-6:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here; but is risen…”

It gives me hope for the future and reminds me that Jesus was bloodied and beaten when He was placed in the tomb, but He was radiant and glorified when He came out of it.

Sometimes we have to figuratively say “goodbye” to the old, defeated person we used to be so that the bright and radiant new person can emerge.

I hope that you will enjoy the day and the season and that you will take the steps to become the awesome person you deserve to be and that you were born to be.

Be blessed,

P.S.: You may be saying, “Tim, isn’t this similar to the message you wrote on New Years?” Why yes it is and thank you for paying such careful attention.  You see the power to change your life is within you all the time. We just take these very special days to remind you of that.

Last week a friend complemented my sense of humor. He said that he would like to use humor in conversation, but he just isn’t funny.  His exact words were, “I couldn’t tell a joke if my life depended on it.”  I tried to tell him that being funny has little to do with telling jokes and more to do with observing daily events and commenting on them.  Funny people usually simply say the things that most everyone is already thinking, but few people will actually put into words.

With that said, I offered to teach him some of the finer points of humor and how to be funny in conversation.  He doubts that you can teach someone this skill, but I believe that people can be taught to get in touch with their inner comedian.

Now, I’m not promising that everyone will become a professional stand-up comic; not at all.  What I am promising is that you will know how to harness the comedic skills you already have and make the most of them.

So, I’m busy putting my thoughts down and getting this mini-course ready.  Be looking for it to appear right here on this site over the next few days.  I believe that everyone – even the most uptight and rigid stiffs can learn to relax and to appropriately interject humor into their everyday conversations.

Be on the look out for this series. It’s coming very soon.

Be Blessed.

In this episode, I reference several Bible verses. In case you missed them, here’s where you can find them:

Leviticus 19:18
Matthew 19:19
Matthew 22:39
Mark 12:31
Luke 10:27
Romans 13:9
Galatians 5:14
James 2:8

Remember, you are worthy of love.

Be blessed,