In life, sometimes we need to step out of expectations other people have for us. A lot of times the expectations are wholesome and uplifting, but other times they are mean spirited. Sometimes other people think we will fail and they quietly celebrate the failure. They won’t come out and say how happy they are to see you fail, but deep in their spirit they expect it and hope for it.

George Patton was an Army General in WWII and was very revered as a General, but was also a colorful, outspoken guy with a hard driving personality that got him in trouble at times. In 1940, he became the General in charge of the Second Armored Tank Division at Fort Benning, GA. He later moved on to other commands in the US and overseas as WWII continued on.

Fort Benning, GA is located in Columbus, GA and is next door and across the bridge from Phoenix City, AL. In the 1940s, most of the bars and gambling were in Phoenix City. His troops would go on leave for the weekend and go to Phoenix City to do whatever it was they did during off duty time. His troops would come back to base hurt, stabbed and sometimes shot because Phoenix City was a rough place back then. After several weekly calls to the city mayor in Phoenix City trying to get something done to keep his guys safe, he got mad one day. Being George Patton, he fired up the whole tank division and drove over the bridge to Phoenix City and surrounded the courthouse. When the mayor looked out his window at the tanks that surrounded the courthouse, all the blood drained from his face. Patton walked up to the courthouse and told the Mayor that if another one of his men was harmed in Phoenix City, he would bring the tanks back and literally level the city.

None of the soldiers were harmed again after that talk. Ha

Sometimes doing the unexpected is the right thing to do.

I was told that I would never be successful as a hotel broker; there were other brokers that actually laughed at me and how I was dressed because I didn’t have nice clothes, no formal education, and stuttered when I talked. I could have chosen to meet their expectations and slide away into some other line of work, or I could choose to not let their expectations define who I was. I choose the latter of those two options.

Sometimes you have to step out of the expectations of others and make a new path for your life. Don’t let people who are not supportive of you have control in your life and define your self-image and who you become. Most of the success stories you read involve a person with limited resources and limited expectations, yet they went on to do great things.

In summary, do not give the power of influence in your life to people that do not have your best interest in mind. Choose your friends and influences carefully. KT

I don’t know what you are trying to do or thinking about doing in your life, but I came across some pretty interesting facts that I would like to share with you. Many times, people will try something, but if they get rejected or fail one time, they quit trying and just believe/assume it was not meant to be.

If the following people quit after one try, I dare to think where we would all be.

Henry Ford – went bankrupt twice within four years trying to start a car company. Interesting point is that the same investors in Ford Motor Company were the same investors that lost money in the first two companies.

Albert Einstein – His parents thought he was retarded, and a teacher told him he would never amount to anything. He did not speak until he was four years old and did not read until he was seven.

Walt Disney – Went bankrupt in 1921, and he literally ate dog food to survive. He went bankrupt a couple more times before inventing Mickey Mouse and finally creating a company that was successful. Newspapers said he “had no good ideas for film productions”

Michael Jordan – Missed more than 9,000 shots and lost 26 games where he was entrusted to take the final shot

Beethoven – His teacher once said of him that he was hopeless as a composer. He lost his hearing and still went on to become one of the greatest composers of all time

J.K. Rowling – She wrote the Harry Potter series. Her manuscript for harry Potter was turned down 12 times, and she was depressed, penniless, divorced. When she wrote Harry Potter while she was on welfare.

Steve Jobs – His biggest failure was the Apple Newton in 1993. They didn’t think he could invent anything that the broad market wanted. The Newton was the basic idea for the Blackberry, and the owners of Blackberry literally owned the global smart phone market and thought they were invincible. Well, Steve Jobs invented the iPhone in 2007 and all but closed down Blackberry.

Stephen King – His first book “Carrie” was rejected 30 times, and he almost quit. It was his wife who took the manuscript out of the trash and told him to keep trying.

Oprah – she was fired from her first television reporting job because she was deemed “not suitable for television”

Steven Spielberg – He dropped out of Junior High School. He was persuaded to go back to school, and they placed him in a learning disabled class. He only lasted a month before quitting school all together.

Abraham Lincoln – he had 12 losses in various areas, job and elected positions before he won the election for the President for the United States.

Bill Gates – Invented a thing called a Traf-o-data that failed because no one thought he could invent anything that the market would buy. He went on to create Microsoft and changed the computer world.

Fred Astaire – Was turned down for his first audition, and they said “he can’t act, he can’t sing, he is slightly bald, he is not handsome, but can dance a little”

Babe Ruth – When he retired in 1935, he held the record for the most home runs and also for the most strikeouts. The Boston Red Sox traded him to the New York Yankees because they said he was just a fat pitcher. He went on to lead the Yankees to seven World Series Championships.

So, think about these things the next time you try something, do something, say something, and get told you can’t do it. KT