Now that we’re on our way on this Lifetrip, what do we do next? I know it’s a cliché, but we should just “enjoy the ride.” Going back to the trip to visit my brother in California, it was a lot of fun. We drove along the west coast by the Pacific Ocean. Stopping in one of the towns along the water, we took a walk and enjoy the scenery. The moist cool breeze and the gentle rhythm of the tide were quite soothing and peaceful. One of the destinations was Crater Lake in Oregon. It was such an awe-inspiring sight to see. Any attempt to describe the beauty of the luscious indigo bed of water with a backdrop of snow-covered summits would be an understatement.

Although the destination is where we want to be, the journey to get there can offer tremendous life experiences. The road trip went smoothly and we were able to spend quality time with my brother. On our way back though, the engine of our Jeep started to sputter. At first, we did not think much of it since it would drive just fine after we let the engine cool off. But the sputtering got worse and the engine started to shut off after a while. We were in the middle of nowhere so we had no choice but to drive the stop-and-go Jeep to a town where we can spend the night. Early the next morning, we asked around and drove to every mechanic shops we can find. But to no avail, they were all closed on Sunday.

What do we do when things don’t go as planned? What do we do when we are on a road trip and we had to make a decision to solve the problem? Although we only had several hundred miles left to get back home, the Jeep could die in the middle of nowhere if we pushed ahead. But if we waited for a mechanic the next day, it could still be another few days to a week before they could order and get the part to fix it. We decided to take our chance and drove the Jeep home. It was a definite test of patient all the way back as the overworked engine gave its effort and brought us home. We later found out that the oil pump was the culprit. One thing we learned from this experience is that we don’t know the future. Planning ahead helps us focus and prepare. But the real test in life is how we handle the current situation. It’s up to us on how we make it out. So, be our own LifeMechanic and take on the road of life.

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Now that we have our Life Google Map in place, the next step is to prepare ourselves for the journey. So how do we begin? Have you ever been on a road trip? I still remember the road trip my family took along the west coast to visit my brother in California. It had been a long time since we last saw him and a drive along the Pacific Ocean with all the attractions along the way did sound quite nice. We had a Jeep at the time. It was a perfect car for the trip; lots of room for comfortable ride and for all our stuffs. Gas was not as expensive back then so it was okay to drive the Jeep. We knew roughly how many days we would be there so we packed our clothes, a swimming suit, and a camera to capture all the fun moments. Food and snack was also on the top of the list. The day of the trip was coming close and we looked over the Jeep one last time to make sure all the oil and fluids were ready for the drive.

Just like preparing for our road trip, our life trip also needs preparation. What will get us to our destination (our dream life) is our Lifemobile and we need to get it ready. So how do we do this? We do it the same way as a road trip. We sit down and make a list of the things we need and we go and get them. If our destination is to have the dream house, we would first find out how much it will cost and how much money we need to get it. We then start to earn more and save most of it. We would make a timeline on when we will be ready to buy. We would also find a few real estate agents and loan officers who can give us some useful advice. The last steps would be to go out and look at many houses and finally make the offer, negotiate the price, and close the deal.

All the steps above take actions and lots of ground works. If we want to build a 100 story building, most construction experts will tell us that we needs to dig deep into the ground to lay a strong foundation to support the structure. Most people would also say that Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time. But a few people actually know that he would come early for practice before everyone else and would stay longer afterward. He spent hours and hours every day shooting the ball until he can do it with his eyes closed. When asked about the reason he succeeded, this is what he said; “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” A quote from Gary Player, the great golfer summarizes it best. He said “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” So what are we waiting for? Start to prepare right now. If time will pass by anyway whether we do anything or not, why not do something for a change?

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