It has been said that the Road to Success has many temptations to make you pull over and park. But if you want to fulfill your dreams, you have to keep moving. If you have a dream of where you want to be in your life, you are the architect. You have to know what you want, set your sites on it, and go after it.  No one can stop you but you…

I have heard several stories about driving through and not stopping in the storms of life and have been encouraged by those stories. I have my own story because I have even been in one of those snow storms when I was commuting between Indiana and Michigan. I was married to my second husband and  I still owned my salon in Indiana and lived in in Michigan.  I loved my salon and could not imagine parting with it.  And I also  loved my home in Michigan which I considered my haven, my spa, my getaway… so I continued the grueling commute because the benefits were so worth the drive.  Like they say, ” It may not be easy, but it’s worth it.”

I remember one winter during one of those snow storms when I was traveling alone and I ran into one of those awful snow storms when I approached exit 139 , near Jackson, Michigan.  It had been snowing heavily off and on throughout my trip but the roads remained clear for the most part.  All of a sudden I ran into an unexpected snow squall.  The road conditions had suddenly changed like night and day without warning. I hadn’t been listening to the radio for the weather.  Traffic wasn’t really heavy at first, so I was relieved that I didn’t have to deal with so many other drivers.  However, I could see some cars and even trucks  had pulled over and had their blinkers on.  I could hear my dad in my head saying, “Don’t stop…keep going”.

Besides the heavy snow, I was concerned about it getting late in the evening and the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the snow, in the dark on the highway all alone…and besides, I had a goal on my mind…I wanted to get home.  I could envision myself putting the key in the door, walking down the hallway, and getting greeted by my then husband with a great big bear hug and kiss.  I also knew he would have a cup of hot tea, some good food, and the Jacuzzi would be ready with scented oil beads and skin softeners.  I so looked forward to spending those next few days at home and had no intentions of stopping on the side of the road. That was my dream and I intended on turning that dream into a reality.

Although I drove slowly, I knew I was making progress.  I was a good driver, I had good snow tires on my car, I was focused,  I had set my goal, and I was determined to get there….even though that unexpected snow squall appeared.  It was just a setback…  Parking on the side of the road was not an option…however, if I had to take a detour to get to where I wanted to go, I would.  I have learned in life that as long as you know where you are going, and you have a determination to get there, there can be more than one road to take you there, however, you just have to keep moving, you have to stay on a road….just map it out.  Otherwise, if you have NO idea where you are going, ANY road will get you there…I’m sure you’ve heard that before.

I finally got to exit 196 to make my way towards home, although it was still snowing, there was no snow squall.  The roads were clear and I could see bright lights everywhere.  I lived near the airport, but still in a country setting.  As I think about the snow storm, I thought about had I stopped on the side of the road, I might have run out of gas, I might have fallen asleep and lost my momentum for getting back on the road.  I had made sure to check in with my dad and my husband and they both had told me to keep going…don’t stop.  They told me that I would be okay.  I needed that support and encouragement.  My Sisters had called to check on me and told me that I was in their prayers.  I could feel the love of my family with me even though I was physically alone on my journey.  My mom always told me that I am never alone so mentally, I knew that  Jesus was with me.

One of my favorite quotes is one that I became attached to when one of my mentors, Thomas Felder (click on his name ) became Senior Vice President in 5LINX.  He adapted the quote to become his own …”