Inflection Point In Your Life The Wake-Up Call

Everybody needs a little quiet time. Do you know what I mean? There was a great ambience all around us and music that we both liked playing in the background. We had some spectacular views as well. As they say, "It was just what the doctor ordered." We were both very relaxed, yet excited and looking forward to our private, anticipated, and much-deserved celebration of my wife's birthday. The night was young, and we were ready to roll! We were both putting on the last finishing touches for our dress-up night. Then, without any alerts, signals, or previous warnings — Boom! Boom! The bombs went off (figuratively speaking).

This day that I am referring to, I will never forget. Never! I will expand a little more about that moment. It was a cool and beautiful Thursday evening in January. It was about 7:20 p.m. or so, to the best of my recollection. We were about to enjoy the evening of festivities, celebrating my wife's birthday. My wife, Monica, and I were out at a very nice and upscale getaway location. Even though it was in January, the weather was almost perfect. The kids were not around. No offense to my kids. The bombs went off (figuratively speaking) as I mentioned earlier, and the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of my back were stuck, permanently still and unable to move. I was receiving some excruciating pain that I cannot explain. This had never happened to me before, ever. I had broken my neck and my ribs and torn my hamstring. I had had oral surgery, a liver biopsy, and several injuries. The pain I had back then was the scariest and most alarming. The potential celebration had turned into an evening of a horrible, tightening, and crushing back pain.

I felt twisting muscles, which I had no control of, causing immobility in my body. I had participated in at least seven to eight different organized sports, and nothing, nothing like this had ever happened to me. What in the world was it? What was going on? After about two hours of this predicament, the physical pain seemed like it would be a part of normalcy for the foreseeable future. Those two long hours caused me to close my eyes very often and see. I also began to experience emotional confusion and spiritual disability. I was lying on the floor, literally, and I couldn't move one inch without some serious pain. I started wondering if I would ever walk again, and I started thinking about what was going to happen to me. Why did I get those sudden, unannounced, excruciating pains? In addition, what was causing those nervous and helpless feelings?

That unexplainable pain continued for about two additional hours with that same state of immobility and pain. Now, several other things continued popping up in my mind and more aggressively tugging at my heart. I realized I had not taken care of my body. I had not listened well to others, especially my doctors. I had not finished a lot of my personal goals either, and in some cases — and I am embarrassed to say this — I hadn't started to attempt some of them at all! I also realized I had kept some old emotional pain hidden in my heart. As I lay on the floor, I did ask myself things like, "Will I ever have the opportunity to discuss them with my loved ones, friends, and colleagues? Will this new challenge bring about other types of hurdles? Physically, will I be a complete husband and father? What will happen to my career? What will happen to our four kids? What will happen to our lifestyle? Will I someday run again? Walk normally?"

I started to recognize the lack of attention to so many critical areas of my life. I had ignored and put things off for way too long. I started to ask myself if I really had a close relationship with God. I lay on the floor feeling very helpless, almost unable to move a muscle, much less a limb.

That was a serious inflection point, and during all that time, I was most confused. It was a body frozen while alive and a heart pounding with no direction and a story way too long to put into this book with all the details. But it was one event, one moment, that special time — and it was my inflection point. It was my wake-up call to my sleeping soul.

After spending three more days in some serious pain, with limited mobility and a newly acknowledged emotional humiliation, I discovered a different pain and message. This new pain was hidden inside one of my own personal emotional caves. What do I mean by that? The hidden cave was the dark secret chamber of my heart. That pain could not be denied. That lost soul was yearning. That painful feeling of the heart also needed some attention. My soul had just been wrecked. And guess what? That pain of the soul was more severe than the back pain! The MRI and EKG of my soul had just undergone an in-depth scan, and I was authorized and had been alerted to read the results. There was no denying the results. It was way past my time to fake it anymore. It was now time to suck it up and do something about it. So, I had to start the shift. I had to shift my perspectives and attempt to rebalance my life. You too should have your own MRI and EKG of your own soul, shouldn't you? Maybe it is happening right now.

After reviewing the scan of my soul, the message I received was this: it is time to begin shifting to Plan B — now! I had to stop pretending, stop the lies and half-truths, move forward and start anew. I had been asleep at the wheel. I was focused on one thing only from time to time, and that one thing changed, every other day, week, or month. I was not very well balanced in the major areas of my life. I had believed that someday the giant in me would awaken. I also believed that the genius in me would figure things out, catch up if you will, and, of course, make things up. And lastly, I could always fake it again until I made it. I was wrong, wrong, and dumb!

I had chosen to lie on the couch of life and watch cartoons, figuratively speaking, and let somebody else handle all the tough stuff. I hadn't paid attention to the critical structures and balances of real life. I never closed my eyes to see the new perspectives. If today, you are like I was, if you are ready to make some serious changes in your life or at least attempt to address some of those things needing your attention, this book is of critical importance. If you are searching for one missing piece in your life or need to improve a little bit in three or four areas, this book is for you as well. I am confident this book will address some critical areas in your life. I will say that during that inflection point of my life, it felt like there were 107 areas that I had failed in attempting to rebalance. That inflection point scarred me forever. But, without hesitation, this I do say. It did scar me in a good way! Being afraid, shaken, and confused was actually a good thing. This pain and sudden jolt of the heart and brain forced me to start thinking about the rut I had been in and opened my views for different blueprints that would help me start shifting to Pan B.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Believe me, he was right!

Yes, it was time to make my move. Maybe it is your time to move today as well. For those of you seeking a new perspective or some new juice in your life, this book will help you. If you have been distracted in more than one direction lately and have not paid attention to the other significant areas that need it, this book can help you attempt to rebalance your life. At times, we just need someone to push us and make us feel uncomfortable so that we can and will make a move. Again, this is a must read for you. But for now, I will start with me, and we will surely get to you, in just a bit. To begin to shift my perspectives, I had to and I must now mature in my thoughts. I must admit to myself that if I am to have a powerful and positive impact on my family, friends, career, legacy, you, or anybody else, I must start with fixing me first.

That inflection point happened right before my very own eyes, as we sometimes like to say. That experience will forever be my inflection point. Have you had yours? Are you there right now? I would take a wild guess and say ... probably? Possibly?

If you are in search of some significant change in your life and are willing to find the courage to begin a new perspective, a shift, then you are the person who has to finish reading and working through the principles and exercises in this book. Your inflection point may not be as dramatic as mine. It could be that this book is your wake-up call. I am not sure of the richness or balance in your life, but I aim to help you improve it and expand it.

An inflection point is this type of moment, this kind of crossroad. It is the moment we all have to feel, recognize, and act on. For the most part, the inflection points in your life are generally obvious, like mine. Sometimes, they are more subtle. Nonetheless, they will happen to you as well, if they haven't already.

Taking the Hardest Step First ... Acknowledgment

Years ago, when I was in the life insurance business, I had a passion for trying to share the kind of work I did concerning family financial planning. I tried my best to convince all my clients to properly protect themselves with life insurance, annuities, and other similar products. Why? Because, generally, in life, bad things happen to good people. With that in mind, I also know that successful people generally react better than others during those bad times. Successful or not, rich or not so rich, it is my goal to encourage you to prepare for your inflection point. You must act now, and you must act quickly. For most of us, this move, this inflection point response, is not an option. It is the spark that must and will fuel your next path.

As a father of four and a husband, I had to ask myself many questions. How would I be able to build a bold dream for my own family to enjoy, live, and feel, when I couldn't even provide a little cloud of vision for myself? I wasn't smart enough to take to heart the advice from so many advisors, doctrines from the Old Book and its infinite wisdom, from science, from history, from medical facts, and from loving and caring friends. As a result of having no balance in life, I ended up starting to crash and burn in some of those seven critical areas of my life. Luckily for me, I was inspired to shift to my new plan B. So, I leave you with this advice: change before you have to ... and be careful not to delay or pause — before you can't.

WIFM Station — What's in It for Me

When you complete the exercises, stay committed to the disciplines and teachings, and read this book at least twice, you will gain a solid strategy for attacking some of the weaker areas of your life. You will also have a better understanding as to why you hadn't addressed them before. For many folks, we need to be very specific in defining what exactly we are searching for and why we are searching for it. Amazing revelations will come your way when you slow down, stop the noise around you, and close your eyes to see some new perspectives. I believe you will gain a richer and more balanced life when you digest the information wholeheartedly and start your own shift to a plan B blueprint. You will grow as a person, and you will glow as a new soul. This book is not for everybody; it's only for those who seek to be somebody better. Let me put it this way: if you don't get a quality blueprint for shifting to plan B, you may look or feel like this real soon.

Well, should we use a blueprint with structure and balance, with systems and guidance, with old and new knowledge Just saying.

From a humorous perspective, a former famous comedian once said something like this: "God did not give us the ten suggestions. He gave us the Ten Commandments." Do you want to argue with the Big Guy? Well, that is why we must try to follow some order.

For humans though, commandments have such a discipline to them. They are too serious, aren't they? Too much work, right? They are so straight-lined and without flexibility. They also don't have late-night desserts! Just kidding. But let's face it, this comedian, in my opinion, was making light of a serious subject and trying to jokingly tell us that if we don't feel threatened about certain things at the time, we won't generally take action on time. It is much easier to wait, isn't it? It is also much easier to make excuses and avoid the conflict. It is and has been very easy at times not to acknowledge a few inflection points, right?

Remember, avoiding your challenges and weaknesses is the easy way. Dealing with the consequences is inevitable and, for the most part, extremely difficult to start. We might be able to avoid some discomfort or postpone some contentious conversations, but emotional pain and long-term setbacks will win and dominate without your courage to shift, address, and adjust things now.

To add to the message I am trying to deliver, I'd like to backtrack just a bit to the painful and heart-pounding message I mentioned earlier.

I do recall getting back from the hospital and visiting with my wife for a couple of hours over several personal and uncomfortable items. Not even the "guaranteed," horse-size sleeping pill I received at the hospital could make me sleep; I had to be awake. I had to reevaluate a lot of issues. I had to prioritize some system for a critical structure and richer balance. So, I began to shift to plan B. It truly was the best thing that happened to me since sliced bread, if you will. It ignited the fire within me! I didn't want to feel or look like the chicken without feathers anymore.

I also called my mom the next morning and shared with her briefly some of the events and emotions that had been bottled up inside of me for about the last twenty hours. I even started a strange bucket list. I say strange because, keep in mind, I was under some serious duress! I revisited the seven critical areas that I had personally ignored. I was undergoing some serious shifting, baby! Well, no excuses for me anyway. When you reach that point, you too will have a very clear vision of your bucket list. And it may also start a little weird. My mom and I were very close. She listened patiently. She had probably been waiting for this moment for some time, and I was simply too busy, like a mosquito, to see much of anything very clearly. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. She already had some of that experience and old-time wisdom. You think?

My mom was one of the closest people to the Architect upstairs I've ever known. My mom very calmly said, "Son, I am so happy that you have done well with your company. I am very proud of you, and so is your family. Do you think it is time now to get serious about using your real talents and start sharing your heart with all your friends, neighbors, employees, and others. Share what you have learned and experienced with everybody you can, everyone who is willing to hear the good stories of old and present?" My mom asked me to consider resigning from my current position. Wow! Didn't she know that I had four children to raise? I had so many other plans and awards to win and trips to make and money to pursue.

She had no idea of my financial situation. My mother told me that I had already done the first part of my life well; however, I needed to finish the second part of my real purpose in life even better. What? Read that sentence again. Now she said it in Spanish, so I am doing my best to translate it. She mentioned the first part of life while I was working for man and the real purpose in life, the second part, which I presumed meant I was to work for someone else. Maybe she had too much caffeine-free coffee.

That conversation meant a lot to me, not only because of my respect and love for my mother, but because of a lot of other events and experiences that followed. I would presume that my mom's comments would also have a major impact on any of you if you were addressed in this manner by someone close to you, wouldn't you agree? The purpose of that short story is to have you slow down, stop, park your emotional car and soul, and evaluate your next move. Then, your emotional spark shifts your heart into drive, plan B! And now, drive baby, drive!

An old Dutch proverb goes, "He who is outside the door already has a good part of his journey behind him."

My mother has since passed away. She used to live in South Texas, about a home run away from Mexico. She was unhealthy, a little bit overweight — "shubby," as she would call it. My mom was also both cute and beautiful. My mother was mostly loving, forgiving, caring, healing, and beautiful ... You get the picture, don't you? However, she was diabetic to the tenth degree. We grew up in a neighborhood that was on the other side of the tracks, as you have probably heard at one time or another. However, the environment did not destroy her love for tortillas. My mother claimed she was not very bright because she only "graduated" from second grade. I think she was ten times smarter than I as well as my seven brothers and sisters. I hope they don't take offense to this.

She barely understood cell phones much less computers, texting, Facebook, and so on. My mother had called me to the carpet and questioned me about my real calling in life. She asked me to review my critical balance of life in myself. She had asked me to dig deep into my soul and consider one thing first.

And this was that one thing. She wanted me to share with people all my blessings and the impact God has had in my life. Even though my mother only had a second-grade education, she showed me that I had very little knowledge about the Lord and the Bible and all the infinite wisdom and power that come with both. However, she still believed and insisted that I could share what little I knew and help a lot of people on this earth grow and grow richer.