Think Things Can't Change? Just Wait!

If you think things can't change, just wait a while.

In my travels today, I heard that President Obama was in Russia for talks.

Back at the office I went online to find out what the purpose of the visit was. The story said that Obama kicked off two days of meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. They're expected to focus on nuclear arms control, Afghanistan, and the environment.

A voice in the back of my head shouted, "Like that would happen!"

The voice was actually from a while back. This refrain I heard inside my head was the one I heard over and over again while growing up, when the Cold War was in the deepest freeze. Relations between Russia and the West were dark and strained, unsettling and frightening. I was a kid at the time, but I remember the Cuban missile crisis. Many say it was the closest the world has ever been to nuclear war.

(Instead of fire drills we had nuclear drills. Crazy now to think that the drill was to put bend over and cover our heads with our text books. I don't have a degree in nuclear science, but I'll bet it really wasn't the best protective mechanism.)

In that time there was no way anyone could have possibly imagined the word Russia not being spoken without fear and disdain. It may sound crude, but we were afraid of them.

 

Fast forward to today, when a black U.S. president sat down with the Russian president to talk about arms control, the environment, and who will win the NBA next year. That's one no one could have called.

And you think things can't change for you? Of course they can. Anything can change.

Here is the formula for change and success:

• Define a destination.
• Begin walking towards it.
• Don't get distracted by the non-believers.
• Keep walking.
• Believe it will happen.
• Understand you have no idea when or how.
• Keep walking.
• Keep walking.
• Keep walking.
• Arrive at your destination.
• Have a nice corned beef sandwich.
• Smile and get some sleep.

That's about it.

Have an excellent day.