Matt Foley: Alright, how’s everybody? Good! Good! Good! Now, as your father probably told you, my name is Matt Foley, and I am a Motivational Speaker! Now, let’s get started by me giving you a little bit of a scenario of what my life is all about! First off, I am 35 years old.. I am divorced.. and I live in a van down by the river! Now, you kids are probably saying to yourself, “Now, I’m gonna go out, and I’m gonna get the world by the tail, and wrap it around and put it in my pocket!!” Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re probably gonna find out, as you go out there, that you’re not gonna amount to Jack Squat!!” You’re gonna end up eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river! Now, young man, what do you want to do with your life?

Brian: I.. actually, Matt.. I kinda wanna be a writer..

Matt Foley: We-e-e-elll.. la-de-freakin’-da! We’ve got ourselves a writer here! Hey, Dad, I can’t see real good…is that Bill Shakespeare over there?

This is about the response I got from some of my most trusted friends when I told them I wanted to be a writer, publish a book and create a screenplay based on my life.  I’m here to tell you and old Matt Foley that those naysayers are full of it!

I’ve done a lot in my life, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’ve surprised people with things I’ve set my mind to.  If a movie has been made and a book has been published then I can surely do it and so can you or anyone else.

The truth is that I’m 43, I am divorced, I have six kids, I’m unemployed and I live in a corner bedroom at my mother’s house.  That’s actually true, but it is temporary.  I have recently been laid off from a six figure executive position and lost all of my savings, my car and got a DUI after allowing all of this downturn to overcome me.  Now I am digging myself out of this hole and moving myself back into the fast lane and into first place in my life.

So far, what have I learned through this process?  I have learned that there are as many different opinions as there are stars in the sky, and the only opinions that are correct are the ones I believe.

My successes and my failures are out there for me to choose and make come true.  They are both waiting for me; as in nature, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, so in life there is opposition in all things.  For me to choose failure would mean there is a success that was missed.  For me to choose success means there was a failure missed.

So, my failures and my successes already exist, they are just waiting for me to realize one or the other.  And something incredibly important to remember in all of this is; if I have any sort of failure, my success is still out there for me to achieve, so quitting is never an option.

Now go out, get the world by the tail, and wrap it around and put it in your pocket!