Originally posted on Facebook HERE

Most of us aren’t all that fond of changes at all. Especially big changes. We deal with changes all the time, too. We change jobs and cars and homes and basically every day is a new day with new challenges. My wife Laurie and I have a POD out there today because we need to clean our garage out to have the concrete coated, which we think will be a nice improvement. Gotta move everything out first, though. Then move it all back when they’re done. And hopefully they do a good job and it looks awesome, and maybe we even clean out some stuff we’ve been storing for years that we’ll never actually use at all. So - small bit of upset, and chances for a successful completion here are high. We replaced the siding and gutters on the house a few months back. That was a bigger job - and much more expensive. You always wonder about the colors you picked out, etc - the company you chose to do the work… and it takes a much longer time to finish the job. The bigger the change, the more trepidation we have going in. Some changes are forced upon us, too. Sometimes a job change wasn’t our idea. A relationship can end and come as a surprise. And, of course - the death of a loved one can force changes on us as well. Death in any form, really - pets are loved ones, too. We like things the way they are, dammit! You kids and yer newfangled whatzits… why I oughta!.. anyway - you get the idea. And I am certainly a creature of routine. I like my stuff where it is. I eat the same breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack basically every day. I do this at that time, this on these days, and I like it that way. Anything that throws me off a little, well… nope, don’t like it. And in my life I’ve made some huge changes. In 1988 I quit using drugs and alcohol and had to learn how to live sober. It was scary as hell. But it was also the absolute best thing I ever did for myself. In 1990 I quit playing in bands for a few years and just did door to door sales. Vacuum cleaner sales, no less. It was an odd time, putting most of my music gear away and not playing very often. But I needed to be out of the bar scene for a while. I wound up meeting my wife through that job. She wound up getting me back into music a few years later. Everything always works out, but it can be hard to see during periods of change - because inside our minds, change can be so unsettling. I wound up getting the gig playing bass with Road Trip Band in 1997. That was a job I held until the end of 2005 when I quit to go full time in real estate. It was a super tough decision there. And then - halfway through 2006 - I left real estate to become a financial advisor. What? I just quit Road Trip to do real estate full time and eight months later I switched jobs? Yep. That was a really scary period of time. But I had unwavering faith that it would work out, even through the financial meltdown of 2008. And - next to becoming sober - this job change is the second best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Of course, I’m just talking about tough decisions here. The two toughest decisions I’ve ever made - the ones that created the most fear and anxiety in my life - they were also the best ones in the long run. This week will bring about another change for me (no, I’m not retiring). As scary as any change can be, I go forward as I always do - knowing in my heart - that my personal motto “everything always works out for me” will once again prove to be the case. These days, no matter what hits my life - no matter how bad it seems on the surface - this is always the first thought that comes to mind. “Everything always works out for me”. If you believe it, you will see it. And when life throws something at you, you can relax into it knowing this is part of a greater plan that will end up being a good thing for you in the long run. Recognize change for what it is. Because there is no growth in life without it. And just on the other side of all that fear and anxiety is where miracles become reality. Have some faith. When the silver lining is the hardest to find, keep digging. Because our greatest successes are often hidden there.