by Austin

September 29, 2010

Sept. 28th, 2010


Sometimes you need a day when things go right. Right? After the whole debacle with the RV, the freedom team was ready for a good day, and we got it! I was able to sort-out the whole insurance situation for the RV repairs, but Dillon and I were beginning to feel like this RV was a cage. We had to get out, so we decided to find some interesting place to eat. The owner of Matarese’s and Sons Auto Repair actually offered to drive us up to an Italian section of Providence, RI to get some food. We ended up wandering into the mall and eating there. We also ended up wandering into a movie, which provided a much needed escape from the real-world of approaching deadlines, near empty bank accounts, and busted-up RV’s!


After leaving the theater, we decided to walk back to the RV. We thought, “Hey! We’ll just loosely follow the highway back!” That… didn’t quite turn out as planned. After many detours and a long walk through the pooring rain, we somehow found ourselves back at the RV, but it took us at least two hours. We had a lot of fun!


That brings me to my main point: Most people spend their lives wishing their circumstances would change, so they could just be happy. Some people are proactive enough to fight their circumstances to change them and find some level of happiness. A very small percentage of people learn to change their perception of their circumstances and transform the bad, difficult, and ugly into paradise! What do I mean? What I mean is that every single problem masks some form of opportunity. I am beginning to see the opportunity in this situation. More on that later… But for now, I want to use a funny example from my good friends Sandi Maki and Al Curtis from the Insights Group. It will show you that you can find opportunity in any situation. Not too long ago, they traveled down to NYC for a conference. One evening, they walked out from the conference, only to discover that their vehicle had been towed! Al had not been too selective when picking his parking spot… 😉 This story would not be very interesting had Al and Sandi responded “normally” to the situation.


I want you to imagine your own reaction to a situation like the one Al and Sandi found themselves in. You’re in a huge city with no car, and you don’t even know where the impound lot is. You’re tired from a conference, and your wearing something like slippers (if you’re Sandi!), which now need to carry you halfway across the city. When you arrive at the impound lot, you will need to wait in line for hours with a bunch of angry people who also had their vehicles impounded. When your number is finally called, you have to pay an indecent amount of cash just to get your vehicle back from the city. Now, I want you to take a look at this video that shows Al and Sandi’s reaction:


Incredible! These two have been instrumental in my development as an entrepreneur! “Reality” is just the lens through which you perceive a situation. Learn to find the opportunity behind the problem, and life will become more amazing than you can yet understand. If you want read a little more about Sandi and Al’s experience, you can check it out here.

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About the author 

Austin

From a 3412 mile inline skate across America for Freedom to a pilgrimage halfway around the world, speaker and life coach, Austin Szelkowski has lived an intrepid spiritual journey. Over the last 11 years, he has skated across a continent, built 3 successful businesses, been enlightened by a mind-bending spiritual awakening, and endured a terrifying dark night of the soul journey in 2017. His story brings courage in the darkest places – providing a sense of spiritual adventure and hope.

    • Linda,

      It certainly is shaping up to be an incredible adventure! I can imagine that those 4 months were some of the most memorable months of your life. I wonder: What did you learn from them?

      – Austin

    • Sandi,

      The experience that you and Al had in NYC highlights an attitude that is entirely crucial to the mindset I’m trying to develop and share with this skate. I suppose, this journey is not so much about sharing a gift I already have. It’s about learning and creating something of value through the struggle of taking on a challenge that appears too big and then passing it on. It’s about creating and then giving what has been created. Thanks Sandi!

      – Austin

  • Wow, what a great adventure. I toured the west in a camper many years ago for 4 months. I think of it and the great people we met along the way. Have a great journey, will check back from time to time to see how you are doing… Be safe my friend!

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