PARKING IN REVERSE

It's funny how sometimes the best lessons in life come from the simple things.  A few weeks ago, I learned something from a small observation that I wanted to share with the masses.  It's weird how life works but if we can take the lessons from small circumstances we can always move onward and upward. 

One evening I was walking to my mailbox and I happened to look across the street at one of my neighbors.  I saw him parking his car in reverse.  He was backing into his parking space.  He seemed to be struggling a little bit and I couldn't help but laugh.  "Why in the hell was he doing that?" I thought to myself.   Why not just pull it in and park like everyone else.  What a fool I thought and then walked on into the house.  

And this is the exact problem with many of us in life.  We fail to see the forest through the trees in many situations.  One quote that stuck with me a while back when I was reading a book entitled "The Four Hour Work Week" stated "Everything popular is wrong."  I've come to find great truth in that statement.  What most of us do usually because we see everyone else doing it is usually not efficient.  If you don't agree then try going to the bank on Thursday afternoon or how about going to the grocery store on a Sunday?  Better yet try hitting the DMV at the end of the month.  

So, the next day after laughing at my neighbor I went to the gym to work out.  Then I saw it again.  I saw a guy parking his Cadillac Escalade into the space backwards.  Out jumped a guy that I had seen at the gym for years.  I had the ultimate respect for this guy.  He appeared to be about 45 years old.  This guy was disciplined.  He always came to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday right about the same time.  Rarely did he miss his scheduled days.  I would see people come and go in the gym.  They would go hard for a few days, then you wouldn't see them again.  Some would come right before the summer beach season only to disappear and grow large during their winter hibernating months.  I was an athlete so I respected discipline and this guy  whom I'm guessing was about 45 years old was in better shape than most in the gym.  He had to know something.  

Why was he parking his car backwards?   I wanted to ask him so bad.  I didn't have the guts.  I just decided that if this guy was in shape and others weren't, if this guy was consistent and others weren't, if this guy park his car backwards and other's weren't, I was going to try it too. 

I drove home and immediately parked my car backwards into the parking space.  I jumped out of my car hoping to hear some championship music or feel some sense of euphoria.  I felt nothing.  I just stared at the car for a moment, shrugged my shoulders and then walked on inside.  

The next day I was running late for a meeting in North Jersey.  I was brushing my teeth and trying to get my tie together at the same time.  I kissed my wife, rushed out the door and then jumped in my car.  It then hit me.  My car was parked in reverse.  I turned it on hit the gas and I was gone.  

The ease of my departure astounded me.  It was like a breath of fresh air, a moment of clarity sent down.  I had already done the hard part before by backing into the parking space.  No longer did I have to back out, look both ways and then take off.  The hard part was over and now I was cruising.  

How many times in life do we put off doing the hard part of some task until later?  How many times do we procrastinate in doing something difficult to just become overwhelmed later when things pile up?  How many times do we put things off until tomorrow not realizing that tomorrow may bring more challenges, more setbacks or possibly an unexpected obstacle?  

I couldn't help but think of Michael Jackson and his untimely passing.  While watching the BET Awards I realized that we had never really honored the king of pop, the greatest entertainer of all time.  We didn't even have a BET award in his name.  Now he was gone.  We could've backed that car into the parking spot a long time ago.  

You see the work always comes first then the success follows.  A favorite quote of mine is "The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary."   No longer would I laugh at my neighbor.  I now understood the guy at the gym and why he parked his car that way.  

Hopefully now when at all possible, we'll all back our cars into the driveway.  There's no greater feeling than hoping in the car, clicking on the seat belt, putting the car in drive and just cruising to your destination.  Hopefully your destination is success.