What You Have in Common with a Teenage Girl

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario for another week of learning from the success lessons of the King of Rock 'n' Roll so as to better your life. Today, we'll be returning to our Halloween series and entertaining the ever important topic of fear.

So, to start off, I have a story to tell you. It involves a friend of mine some time back. And though I'm sure she will look less favourable through its telling, I can assure you she is as good as any friend who's ever walked the straits of our world. Funnily enough, you'll find my teenage friend and you probably have a lot in common.

When this event occurred, my friend had recently broken up with a boyfriend she’d been close to but life hadn't gone well with. In the short time she and him had been apart, he continued to call her and attempt contact to possibly patch things up. She didn't want to get back together with him but his attempts kept him in her doll house. Around the same time, she'd met a fella at the college she was going to who she liked. He had future prospects and listened better than her ex ever had.
 

So, this night we were together with some other friends at a party. Unfortunately, this girl had drunk a bit more than she probably should have. In her stupor, she decided to contact her new college friend. But however hard she tried, he didn't answer. She continued attempting but his lack of reply made her feel worse. Then, she started mulling over her ex and thinking about how bad things were − maybe she should go back to him because he was obviously trying and this fella, though she liked him more, wouldn't answer when she needed him. Of course, she was overlooking one detail.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning.

Heck, his lack of reply was probably brought about by bedtime. Or, at the very worst, associating with other friends, giving them the respect they deserved at some other party elsewhere − somewhere where he didn't have a phone or where it was turned off. Her fear of his never getting back to her and being left were likely crass. Yet, her lack of knowing still fanned fear within her, a fear that prevented her from acting. And that same fear stops perhaps billions of people from accomplishing what they want to do most.

Looking at Elvis, this lack of knowledge likely scared him, too. I mean, he was a Rock singer back in the fifties... man, that had to be the most unstable job in the world! Think about it, besides the fickleness of fame in itself, he risked the possibility of injury to either his voice or body (either one possibly destroying his career). And then, to top it all off, he had all these reporters asking him what would happen to the world if Rock 'n' Roll was a fad and it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, effectively ending his career. He had a lot to worry about. 

But, did he? Who knows. Yet, whether he had these fears or not, he didn't let them paralyze him. He still recorded tracks - he even went into the army and surmounted a comeback on his discharge. In fact, had he feared his chances of a continued career, he might’ve procrastinated, not recorded those tracks, not tried the comeback and never done anything again. His fear of losing could’ve stopped him from acting, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where he did lose.

The difference, the sole difference, between his actions and my friend’s were, despite the possibility of truth in her college friend going off with other girls in her absence, Elvis accepted the truth and kept moving. Whatever fear was there, this fear of the unknown, he turned it into background noise and continued doing what he could - making songs. A breakdown brought about by fear, like what happened in my friend’s case, could have only worsened the situation. He and those around him made sure they were never too absorbed by the possibility of disaster. Sure it's there, but whether you fear it or not it can happen anyways. The only intelligent way to handle fear is to acknowledge it and move on.

And this is what you must do. At this time of year, people focus on ghouls and goblins (Green Goblin from Spiderman, anyone?), fearing those creatures. But fear is not a once a year emotion - it can happen anytime. And what scares us far more than any vampire is the possibility of being fired, of losing our spouse, of sickness, of famine, of war, of foreclosure; worries so far away yet so close to us all. And that gives us the shivers.

But despite the unknown and your fear of it, you can only do what you can do. Accept it, and move on. You're at a crossroads, you can either act like my friend − breakdown on a couch over fear of something happening − or you can act like Elvis, understand the fear, and then do everything you can to fight it. Only then will you manage this spirit of the season; only then will be able to make progress in all areas of your life.

Elvis's Lessons:

You can only do what you can do; my friend, scared of the possibility she might be in this world unloved, broke down on a couch over possibly nothing. Elvis on the other hand, with an uncertain job and life ahead of him, managed to keep going. His secret? Acknowledge your fears and keep moving. When you let your fears paralyze you, you won't make any more progress and you’ll increase the likelihood of your fears coming true. Moving on is the only way to fight your fear AND accomplish great acts. You're at the crossroads, and it's your choice which way your walk.

See you next week for more Graceland Ontario Halloween fun! Can't wait!!! 

P.S.  Remember to leave a comment... I'd love to hear what you think about my work and also hear your experiences of Halloween, Elvis or simply success. And, as an added bonus, you can guarantee I'll reply to you - so keep to your best spelling!

P.P.S. If you're interested in seeing Elvis singing ‘Johnny B Goode” in a rare video from 1975, here's a Youtube video of it. Cheers!

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• The Witches's Marketing Secret

• The Only Guarantee

• The Time Trap

• Move On When It's Time

• Bruno Mars Learnt from Elvis... Why Wouldn't You?

• Getting Others to Believe in You (the Elvis Way)