Getting Over The Hump

beck Getting Over The Hump

And Other Things That Suck As Bad As Getting Your Eyes Dilated And Then Staring Straight At The Sun For 19 Hours

by R. Preston Ely

----------------

“It’s not about money. It’s about winning and getting over the hump. We’ve had the appetizer now, but we left the main course on the table.” - Rodney Roy “Rod” Beck, Chicago Cubs Pitcher (Upon extending his contract after helping the Cubs reach the 1998 NLDS)

Life for me used to not be “so good that my bones wanted to pop through my body for joy”. Oh they still wanted to explode allright. But for the opposite reason of joy – pain.

I call this season in my life “Pre-Hump.” I actually have a PHD. I don’t know if you knew that. Pre-Hump Days. As in – “the days before I finally made it over the hump into the promised land.”

The PHD were awful.

Living week to week. Going around in circles. A victim of life circumstances. Hating my job. Hating my life. Hating traffic signal, pedestrians, and/or anything else that makes me have to slow down in my car even a little.

Come to think of it I still haven’t gotten over the hump with that last one.

The only way they could’ve been more awful is if it had been blizzarding each of those days (in Tampa), and my front door froze shut, and my heater broke, and the only way I could get warm was to stare at my plasma tv, play the fireplace dvd, and use nlp mind tricks to talk myself into being un-frozen.

That reminds me of a true story –

Working on the Railroad

There was this guy who worked at a railroad station and had a bad attitude. He was always negative. Always complaining. Always seeing the worst in everything.

Well one day he got stuck inside a railroad car (or whatever you call those choo-choo train wagon thingys). He couldn’t get out and it was after-hours. No one was there to help him. He was trapped.

He looked around and thought to himself, “this is actually a refrigerated car. I’m going to die.” He started to get cold. He crept into a corner and huddled up trying to keep himself warm.

Long story short – he died. They found him the next day literally frozen to death. And the kicker? It wasn’t even a refrigerated car! He literally “thought” himself to death. His mind turned his fears into reality.

So far as I know, that is a true story. I read it in pastor Joel Osteen’s best selling book Your Best Life Now which I highly recommend to you to read. That book literally supercharged my real estate career when I first started out.

So why did I tell you this? I told it to you simply because when I was making all that crap up about the blizzard and staring at my fireplace plasma (which I do have), the railroad story popped into the screen of my mind. And I simply write down whatever appears there usually. It sucks. I have to do whatever the voices in my head tell me or else they said they would kill my puppy.

Now I have to tie the negative-guy-in-the-choo-choo-train-car-story into some sort of coherent point that makes all this work. And this, my friend, is my daily struggle. One day I’ll start editing my stuff and make it all much more seamless and palatable, but for now – eat my chaos.  

Pre-Hump Days are where most people actually live their entire lives. Did you know that? It’s true. The poor soul who chooses to believe that PHD is simply “reality” is choosing to freeze to death in 85 degree weather.

That’s not you is it?

I never thought I would get here, but I finally made it. OTH. Over The Hump.

PHD is Hell. OTH is Heaven.

PHD is daily torture. OTH is daily blessings.

PHD is hard. OTH is easy.

PHD sucks badly. OTH sucks – goodly.

I wrote a poem about it. A haiku if you will:

You down with PHD?  Yeah, you know me.  You down with PHD?  Every last homie.

That’s actually written from the negative point of view. It’s more of a “country” haiku than anything. It’s not even meant for humans really. I shouldn’t have wrote it.

Now, some of you will recognize my poem as something similar to the lyrics from “You Down Wit’ O.P.P.” by the rap duo, Naughty By Nature. Well, the story is they actually stole the lyrics to their #1 hit rap song from my haiku. I know – I was just as outraged. It’s like, “Hey, get off my haiku, will ya? Make your own things up.” Right? The nerve of some of these rappers, I swear.

THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF YOUR TUNNEL

Things CAN get better, and they WILL get better if you determine within yourself to MAKE them better. Most people do not make it over the hump simply because they are not willing to pay the price. They don’t believe they have it in them.

Do you have it in you?

hump There is a cross to bear at the top of this hump. There is no passing over without bearing it. Will you choose to believe, fight, and win? Or will you doubt, retreat, and lose?

It’s all up to you.

p.s. I am well aware that this article is so far from being well-constructed that only a child with down syndrome could ever fully appreciate it. I’ve been a little distracted this week making more money than I ever thought possible. Ok? Sorry. I’ll do better next time. GET OFF MY BACK!

Recognize - Recognize that your Pre-Hump Days (PHD) do not need to last forever.

Understand - Understand that PHD are where most people actually live their entire lives.

Appreciate - Appreciate that the poor soul who chooses to equate PHD with “reality” is choosing to freeze to death in 85 degree weather.

Take Heart & Be Hopeful - There is a light at the end of your PHD tunnel! Things CAN get better and they WILL get better if you determine within yourself to MAKE them better!