There's No Reset Button on Life

There’s a lot of talk in the media about “starting anew”.

We get indoctrinated with it from when we’re young and the grownups have their New Years Resolutions. But from there, things just go down the driveway.

Before you know it, people are giving you “clean starts” and “new beginnings”, even if you’ve been shoved in jail all night for unsuitable touching.

There’s nothing wrong with changing the way we act, it’s just the way we approach it. There’s this thought that life has a reset button, like a game. That if we don’t like what’s going on, we can get back to the last save point – an ok situation where nothing’s great but nothing’s bad – and start all over again.

But life doesn’t work like that.

That view of life misses all the lost opportunities you’ve forgone, it doesn’t recognize that just because you reset, most other people won’t accept your decision.

It doesn’t even recognize the good you can learn from making mistakes.

Instead of looking for the reset, the start over, look for the turn around. This is where you say, “that does it! I’ve had enough. No more twinkies. I’m losing weight”.

Or when you say, “I’m taking control of my life. I need to take more responsibility for my actions if I want things to get better”.

When we decide we want things to change, we CAN change them.

But we must realize that we’ve got to create change out of the crumbs of our old life. Only by navigating the struggles of the old can be find the wonders of the new.

Not by “resetting”.

Alex H.

If you like this Graceland Ontario update, you might also like these posts:

• How to Have a Better Coming Year than those in the Past
• Graceland, Ontario: Welcome to Graceland, Ontario!
• Graceland, Ontario: The Elements of a Good Story
• Graceland, Ontario: It's Time to Decide...
• Graceland, Ontario: Elvis Presley Would've Made a Poor President

So, When You Say Growth, You Mean Height… Right?

Hey Guys,

Do you like:

Ø Learning new subjects?

Ø Meeting new people?

Ø Visiting different places?

All these activities share one commonality: you’re learning and, therefore, you’re growing.

Elvis became a giant among men despite possessing a relatively normal physique. And it wasn’t because he was bigger or better than everyone else. Not even close. In a fight against a professional boxer, like Muhammad Ali, chances are he would have been slaughtered.

Many people are under the impression that you stop growing when you hit your final height. These people assume that since you never peaked 5’8” that you’re finished. Well, perhaps height-wise you are, but you still keep on growing in more important ways.

Other people will follow me to this point and say, “That’s right! My fingernails still grow and so does my hair and, if I ever had the time, I could even get my biceps to grow!”

Right. But Elvis didn’t have bigger biceps than everyone else. You can take a look at a youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger from Elvis’s Vegas period and, body-wise, Elvis is no competition to the Governator.

This isn’t the type of growth I’m talking about, and this stumps many people. Oftentimes people forget perhaps the most important place to grow − your brain.

There are many way to grow your brain. Several of them are listed above; you could also add reading and doing things you’ve never done before like, for example, rock climbing.

I heard something very interesting the other day; someone was talking about showing the difference between living and non- living (that’s right − dead) things. They talked about food and water, how we need them and rocks don’t. But they mentioned something else − they mentioned growth.

Think about this: a person who stops training their brain from the moment they leave high school prevents their brain from growing very much, if at all. And, considering growth is a characteristic of a living thing and the opposite demonstrates a non-living thing, people who leave their brain to rot are slowly becoming non-living things. They walk and talk, like zombies, but, as their brains stagnate, they aren’t fully live.

This isn’t a new concept in the business world; the adage “if you’re not growing, you’re dieing” is well-repeated in entrepreneurial circles. For those of you who want literary proof of this, I can recall reading it in Robert Herjavic’s book Driven, but I can assure you I’d heard it long before then.

Elvis is living (well, not anymore) proof of this. Notice the times in his life when he grew the most;

Ø Back in ’56, with the new record contract and the first LP

Ø In ‘60, when he got out of the army and was revving for a new start in Hollywood

Ø In ’68 when he was returning to the music industry, newly married with a new child.

Take a look at some material from these times. Never before or afterwards did he look so vibrant and act so fresh with so much energy. These were the times when he was growing the most, when he was doing new things and meeting new people.

Then look at the time when he was at his worst, say ’74 on. He was growing; he still read, and he did some new material, but not much. His career went into a slump and his physical condition reflected this. He didn’t have much to look forward to. When he wasn’t growing as much, he didn’t seem as alive.

So, what am I saying? People who don’t grow their brains aren’t fully alive, and the more steadily you continue to grow, the more alive you are. Interesting, perhaps hard to believe, but Elvis demonstrated it noticeable for all to see. Now, it’s time for you to learn what he showed.

Elvis’s Lessons:

Ø “If you’re not growing, you’re dieing”. When you learn and you grow your mind, you are most alive. Ways to grow include reading new books and doing things you’ve never done before. Now, go to the store or library and have fun with your new book…

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing Elvis during one of his highest growth periods, 1968, here he is, performing “One Night With You” at his best.

P.P.S. I'd love to hear your feedback. Don't be afraid to post a comment at the bottom of this post.