Life Happens For You, Not To You!
Sep 15, 2025
“What we focus on expands."
-- Unknown
Life is filled with both good and bad moments. Some of it we can control, and some of it we can’t. But here’s the game-changer: the way we think about those moments makes all the difference.
Life happens for you.
The Latin word for “for” means in favor of. Imagine if you believed life happens in favor of you. With that mindset, the good gets better—and even the challenges will seem better. With a negative mindset, the bad will be worse. The good will not seem so good because we will be able to find a flaw in it. 
There’s always a solution.
Ever since Jack was a kid, he was afraid someone was hiding under his bed at night. Finally, he went to see a shrink, Dr. Ken, and said, “Every time I go to bed, I’m convinced someone’s under there. I’m scared, and I think I’m going crazy.” Dr. Ken told him, “Put yourself in my hands for a year. Come see me three times a week and we’ll get rid of those fears.” Jack asked how much it would cost. “One hundred fifty dollars a visit,” the doctor replied. Jack said he’d think about it. About six months later, Dr. Ken bumped into him on the street and asked, “Why didn’t you ever come back?” Jack said, “Well, $150 a visit, three times a week for a year—that’s over $23,000. A bartender cured me for ten bucks. I saved so much money I bought myself a new pickup truck.” The doctor asked, a little annoyed, “And how did a bartender cure you?” Jack grinned and said, “He told me to cut the legs off the bed. Ain’t nobody under there now.” Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. See problems as opportunities.
John Maxwell’s Law of the Rubberband reminds us that growth only happens when we’re stretched. What if the challenge in front of you is actually an opportunity to grow stronger? (yeah, I don't like to hear that, either, when I'm in the midst of a trial.) Turn failures into “learns.”
Bubble wrap, Post-it Notes, and even Wheaties were born from mistakes. What looks like failure in the moment can be the seed of something remarkable. Visualize a great outcome.
In sports, champions like Tom Brady "see" success before it happens. We already “visualize” when we worry—it’s just picturing the worst outcome. Why not use that same energy to picture the best outcome instead? In 2019, I pictured a warm, sandy beach in my future without any idea how that was going to happen. In January 2020, my daughter and I spent 10 days in Maui!
At the end of the day, it comes down to this:
What we focus on grows.
This mindset shift not only makes our lives better--it makes us better leaders. And that’s exactly what we’ll be diving into at Live2Lead Tri-Cities on October 15th. You’ll walk away with practical leadership tools, fresh inspiration, and a renewed sense of purpose for both your personal life and your workplace.
Reserve your seat today: https://www.jan-
Let’s choose growth, together.
Cheering you on,
Jan