Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sooner or Later? The Choice is Yours

Have you ever heard people say, “Sooner or later things will work out?” That’s an expression that many of us can relate to. We’ve heard it for much of our lives. That expression relates to each of us in many ways. And it’s very true. Tough times don’t last always – sooner or later, things have to work out, right?

How about in your professional lives? Have you ever struggled so much that you wonder if things will really take off for you? Perhaps it’s on your job. Or maybe you’ve started a new business and want your company to soar to record profits. But especially now – in the recent economic downturn – things have been slower than molasses and you wonder when your big break will come.
And what about at home? Are you stuck in a bad marriage? Are your kids driving you up the wall with their different issues? Has the bad economy made things stressful for you at home? You’ve got to believe that sooner or later the struggles will end, right? That’s probably the only thought that keeps you going.
I have a way of believing that we have a lot more to do with our “sooner or later” than we think. Simply saying “sooner or later”, in many ways, suggests a passive approach. In other words, we just think that we go about our everyday lives and do what we always do and then somehow, “later” becomes “sooner” and our dreams come true.
I believe that there’s an appointed time for our success but I also believe that we have a role to play in that timing. Simply standing back and wishing that we have the families and professional lives that we desire is probably not the best approach to seeing our dreams come true.
I want to suggest to you today, as you march towards the future with your hopes and dreams and great expectations, that you become an active participant in making your “later” become “sooner.” There’s too much that we envision to simply stand back, wishing and hoping. Certainly it takes time to become successful – there’s no such thing as an overnight success. We have to build our success plan and execute it step by step.
But by being proactive and diligent, we can reap the rewards that life offers much sooner than we might think. We have much more control over the timing of our success than the traditional “sooner or later” expression would have us think. So going forward, I challenge you to choose “sooner and not later”. You get it? There’s “sooner or later”. So given the choice, I’d rather choose “sooner”.
The following poem that I wrote is from my book Poems of Inspiration: A Daily Dose of Self Motivation. It’s entitled Sooner or Later. It tells in poetic form the message that I share in this post. I encourage you to embrace the life changing message embodied in it.  Enjoy reading:
Sooner or Later
By Rodrick Walters

Can’t live like this forever—
something has got to change.
To the good life I’m but a stranger;
it always seems out of range.

They told me that sooner or later
there’s got to come a day.
They told me that sooner or later,
things will go my way.

I’ve struggled from conception;
my fate, I guess, in life.
Hope seems but deception;
an illusion in the night.

So tired of the darkness,
the struggles in my heart,
the pain, and all the sadness—
I want a brand new start;


a life where I can live
and love and laugh and play,
a life where I just treasure
every moment of the day.

I want the good life sooner;
can’t wait for much more time.
Later seems more like forever,
but right now’s my time to shine.

My night will turn to daylight,
my bad luck into good,
and my problems into promise—
just like I knew they would.

I choose sooner and not later,
and I’m starting with today.
Now my future’s so much brighter—
now the sun will light my way.

Let’s go out and make it a great day today. After all, today is “sooner” – we can’t wait for “later.”


The Upbeat Dad

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