Forza Horizon 3: Is It Worth It?

Closed Tunnel

The saying: Every time a door closes another one opens; is often times hard to believe. We grow up with tunnels opening in all sorts of directions, each one ending in a different direction than the next one. We struggle to find the perfect tunnel to enter and at times we ponder the choice for several days or weeks before entering one of those tunnels. Some tunnels we can enter knowing that at the end we will have a safe passage. These tunnels are only one direction, we can not make a u turn and start at the beginning again, the choice is final.

But what if you had the choice to choose any tunnel you want knowing that you had one chance to turn back the hand of time and start from the beginning to go down a different tunnel? What if you had the power to control your future while knowing the outcome for at least this one instance?

What tunnel would you choose from in your life? Would it be fortune, success, happiness, love or greed? 

Imagine for just one moment, that question you so very much would love the answer to, but you are unwilling to ask because asking the question could change everything at hand. Finally you can ask that one question and if things don't turn out as you had hoped you can start from the beginning and never ask that question. What if that question you asked, the one you wish would have turn out to be the dreams you had, failed? Now that you know the outcome, would you be willing to face the facts?

Its easy to go day after day, having periodic moments of day dreams. Following those day dreams, you close your eyes at night for the full effect, your dreams now feel like reality and you no longer want to wake up.

You now used the tunnel which would hopefully be that outcome from your dreams, and it turns out the complete opposite from what you would like. What will you do? How can you continue? 

We have all had that one person during our life we thought maybe if I just ask they will say "Yes". But you never pull the trigger and they simply walk out of your life, gone forever. That casual encounter at a local store, best friend for many years, or that special coworker. 

Rejection is such a powerful word. We are all afraid of failure. This is why most of us fail to even attempt a goal, we are afraid that we will never complete it, or someone will laugh at us.

My most precious physical item is the manuscript I wrote as a teenager. I had received my special letter stating they want my book. I unfortunately did not have the funds to get the manuscript published. It now sits with me every day. The thought of attempting to get it published again, the thought that perhaps I could make a few thousand from this manuscript and begin a successful writing career. Why haven't I attempted again? Rejection.

Why did it take me 10 years to leave a job I had never really considered a career? Rejection.

Why haven't I moved back home to Chicago? Rejection.

I'm writing this post today because I am challenging myself to forget about rejection and push myself to experience life for the first time in years. I want to exit my hibernation chamber and become something I feel is special, not to make money, but to experience life.

The hardest obstacle I will face is looking at me in the mirror every day. 

A Boucing Ball

Our hobbies define who we choose to become. It may happen early in our childhood, watching your brother swing a bat, your cousin painting, or a collection of stamps your grandfather left you.

Sometimes, our hobbies are just hobbies. We don't have a true meaning for them. In our boredom we turn to them to past the time. Hobbies sometimes though take us away from the world we currently live in. We stride to become something bigger than our self, something bigger in the world, and something to be remembered by.

My hobby is basketball. It begun when I was a young child, I do not recall the first time I saw it, or the first time I picked up a ball, but I do remember all the great times I had with it during my childhood. With the adversity I faced, I turned to my hobby of basketball to guide me on a path. I could put on some headphones and shoot around for hours each day after school, lost in my own world.

I was never any good during my youth, I never took it serious. I pretended like most kids brought up in Chicago, that I was Air Jordan himself. That I could fly like an eagle, that maybe one day I could suit up in that red jersey with my last time on the back of it. It was a dream, not a goal. I knew it would never become reality, but it was not about making something of myself, it was about taking me somewhere else. Away from the life I had.

To me basketball is more than a sport that James Naismith created in 1891, it was more than the ten players on the court attempting to score baskets. It was about finding myself, it was about removing the hatred in my life. I did not choose the game, it choose me. 

Even to this day, I can throw on some headphones, drive to the nearest hoop and shoot around for an hour, lost in my world. Pretending I was Michael himself, while my game has developed quite a bit since my youth, I'm still that same kid on the court, admiring the game itself. 

Everlasting Change

Every path you take in life has a fork in the road. Every fork you take has a consequence, a result of that path you took. The judgement you make on this path, ultimately, comes from you. You may ask for suggestions, ask for input and even demand a solution. But it is you completing the steps, at that fork. Even the input you receive from this question, is yet another fork you are at. You may agree with someone about the path, or go another direction, its your decision.

The question always looms over your head, was the decision you made the correct one. You continue to ask yourself, if you went the other way, how would your life be. If you expect to succeed in your current path, you must accept it. You must be willing to understand, you will ultimately make a mistake, but learn from that mistake, accept it, and ensure this mistake is not made again.

Change is tough, it feels like an impossible leap. Change makes you strong, it provides you with a new vision, it makes you new friends, and it may even provide you with happiness. Change could also be mentally tough. The idea always sticks with you, embrace the challenge.

Don't try to change your change. Change your view on accepting it.

Invincible Dreams

Its time for your daily routine. You have been up for over 20 hours now, your eyes are closing rapidly, your struggling to keep them open. Finally, your ears go deaf, and your eye lids will not longer open, its time for you to drift away.

You awake at your passion. A smile from cheek to cheek is permanent on your face. You look up and see an endless vision of what your dream has developed into. Something that feels so real, it makes you feel so alive, suddenly you hear this beeping. Its growing louder with every step you take, and then you collapse. Your falling in the sky, looking down you see nothing but clouds. At last, your awake again, your dream is over and its time to start another day.

In your dream, what was it that made it so special? What are you doing to achieve that goal?

We all have a perfect world, none of each are currently living in that world. Some people believe its about money, others look at family that will fill that happiness. No matter how similar you may share a perfect world with someone, its never exactly the same. Its as unique as your fingerprint, every groove is yours, and yours alone.

How hard are you working to reach that goal, that vision of your perfect world? Chances are you have already given up deep down inside, the journey has become too hard, too unrealistic. Maybe, your just looking for an excuse to blame the lack of motivation on something or someone else. Its your dream, remember? Your vision of the perfect world. Don't blame the lack of living in that world on someone or something else. Embrace the challenge to reach that goal, make yourself a believe.

Maybe the next time you close your eyes at night, you will finally, really be in your vision of the perfect world.

Over the rainbow

The old fashion saying goes, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. What if you don't like lemonade. Yes, I know the saying is a proverbial phrase, it does not really mean lemons. What it simply means is when life gets tough, you think of the positive and make great things happen.

If I said think of a tough time in your life, and I gave you 15 seconds to remember one, what would that one tough time be? What was the outcome if that tough time is now behind you? Were you successful with overcoming the challenges in place? Now, take 15 more seconds and think of another time when life gave you a lemon. Which was the most challenging between the two you just came up with? Was the challenge involving finances? Was it about a friend, coworker, or family member?

Chances are your most challenging moment involved another person, and was not related to your finances. Why is that, you may ask? Every person on this spinning globe is of course independent, we all think different. Some of us are more forthcoming with issues that are present, others are willing to pass it off and just dropped the moment in the trash, awaiting for the pile to fill. We are hard to deal with. We expect everyone to act just like ourselves, we pride ourselves on our determination at the task on hand.

What we fail to realize is the importance of every person we encounter. That guy you accidentally cut off in traffic, that trash pile could be just about to over flow, and now he is raged. A typical mild mannered man, who is now face to face with you ready to swing his scrunched up fist. Maybe it was the lady at the store, who you happen to jump in line, not realizing she was next. Her trash, just added another sheet, but she is calm and moved on.

One of my favorite sayings from my days in retail is "Treat others as you would like to be treated". Respect is what Aretha Franklin was singing about. And in today's quickly moving world we all fail at respect on a weekly basis. Sometimes we do it on purpose, other times we accidentally say something or act in such as way which offenses another.

What was the purpose of this post? It was to make you think about your own personal feelings. Are you the cause of the moments that may be in someones trash? How can you ensure this does not happen anymore? The next time life gives you that lemon, you toss it over that rainbow and challenge yourself to be a true intelligent human.

The water is hot.

Our human emotions are amazingly similar to a pot of water. We continue to turn up the temperature whenever an aggressive moment arrives. We defuse moments and lower the temperature down a few degrees.

Some people are able to maintain the thermometer better than others. They may get extremely heated at one point, where the boiling water is ready to flow over the edge, and within moments can bring that temperature right back down.

Others keep a steady temperature on the outside, but are raging on the inside. These people turn to social media for attention. We are brave on social media, we know that most people we engage in conversation with online, we may never see physically. It is the confidence of having the upper hand. We can push people to that boiling point and never have any physical conflict in our direction.

Most people in current society are willing to attract attention through social media to vent any frustration they may have with employers, friends, family and pretty much anything else. The outcome this age of technology has brought forth is the lack of leadership, and the lack of face to face serious conversations.

Kids will break up over social media, or via a simple text message. We receive automatic emails saying we did not get the job. Your spouse will commit adultery and you will find out on Facebook. Even the simple thing such as the local media, will all be sought out by social media. We comment our thoughts on this situation, behind a touch screen phone or a computer. We are willing to address our needs in a safe environment and not willing to address it directly.

Bravery is key. It was lost with the invention of social media. Our forefathers spoke with great attorney, they fought for what they believed was correct. They spoke in mass gatherings, speaking what they believe was the truth. Let us gain that bravery back, let us keep the water from boiling over.