Innovation Issue MADE Magazine | Page 53

MADEXXX MADEINC Think back on what things you may have done differently to create a different experience or different outcome. There’s nothing wrong with having setbacks. The key is to realize that is an opportunity for a comeback. Don’t stay down in the dumps. Stay positive because God doesn’t make any mistakes. Just because that opportunity didn’t work out, it doesn’t mean the next one isn’t. In order to grow, you have to excuse the past. So forgive yourself, forgive them and excuse it and move on. Embrace the present. So now you’re here, so what do you do? Photo Courtesy of Kiki Ayers you’re still trying to figure out why. Whether they were teachers, neighbors, employers or whomever. When someone goes out of their way to treat you special or to make opportunities for you or to open doors for you that they didn’t have to. You wonder in your mind why did they do that. It started early in life for me when coaches and teachers and professors were so passionate about me being a success and I often wondered, “Why are they doing this?” They really cared about me being successful. I think if I ask anybody, who’s that one person or four people in your life that really had an impact or did something special that put you on a path. I think we all can think of somebody. And then if I asked, why did they do it, most people don’t have an answer because the people just blessed them. Whether that’s relationships, whether that’s advice—they just blessed them. So when we think like that, it’s easy to do it for someone else. I’m always looking for the opportunity to be a blessing to somebody else, especially people that I don’t know. Excuse The Past, Embrace The Present. Be reflective. INNOVATION ISSUE Envision Your Future. God is in control no matter what situation you’re in and he holds the future. One of the things I’ve learned is that life is like a rollercoaster. You’re going to have your extreme highs and you’re going to have your extreme lows. But the ke y is to learn from each of them and embrace that learning as much as you can. And understand that it is just a great journey. Don’t get depressed. Just understand that you’ve got to keep moving forth. Don’t look out the rearview mirror—look at the windshield. Don’t look back because you may run into something. Always look forward. 53