Oakley ######## It Happened In The Blink Of An Eye_149

Next thing he knew he was flat on his back - people milling around, shocked expressions on their faces.
At 8:40am I got a text message - "I was just hit by a car in front of school with people".
My first reaction was, "Huh?" and I immediately rang him. "What's going on?" "I was just hit by a car" "Are you okay?" "Ambulance is here". "Oh sh*t, how bad is it?"
He sounded fine, but I've learned over the years that adrenaline and shock can do that.
"Where are they taking you" "I don't know" "Find out and I'll call you back".
So began yesterday with my 17 year old son, Zahan.
I got to the Emergency Ward at Royal North Shore to find him lying in bed with a drip, complaining of a lot of pain in his right leg. They'd taken x-rays designer sunglasses clearance, nothing broken, thank God. No concussion, no internal injuries.
Quite a miracle given he'd been hit by a car doing 40km/hr (it was a school zone and fortunately the lady driving was doing less than that.) He'd been hit, gone over the bonnet, smashed the windscreen and bounced back onto the road.
And the amazing thing is that the only thing broken were his headphones! He even got right up, went and collected his MP4 player and sun glasses from the road. Ah, adrenaline to the rescue.
We spent the morning together in hospital, they did a battery of tests and pronounced him fit to go home. He's a very lucky young man. (I shudder when I think it could have been a 4-WD with a bull bar or a bus - not a normal sedan.)
Now you're probably wondering how this connects with what I normally write about...
Zahan and I had a pretty interesting conversation while he was lying in Emergency. And it highlighted how beliefs can be formed.
He's been in a number of scrapes in his life (and who hasn't). But as he's come out of most of them pretty much okay, he thinks he's "invincible". While I sort of gently put that one to bed, telling him he was very, very lucky and that someone "up there" was looking out for him, his response was very interesting.
"Well, I don't know or believe that anyone's up there... but maybe I haven't done everything I need to do in life yet and that's why I'm not dead."
"...And having got through this, I KNOW I can be a millionaire."
And that one to me is very good example of how we can create our own beliefs and have them run our lives.
For I have no doubt that he'll do very well in life. Now he's got even more reinforcement for himself - an "if then else" type structure. "I survived, so I'm destined for greatness" etc.
Now my point here is not to make any sort of judgment on the belief or cause and effect. My point is that most beliefs we hold are irrational. After all, what's surviving got to do with how well or badly you do in anything?
Unfortunately, this is very often the case though. You can see it everywhere. People have all sorts of excuses for being successful or failures. They may not consciously articulate it, but it's there.
At the end of the day Oakley ########, it all comes down to self worth. "Do I feel worthy of (money, success, great relationships - you fill in the blank)"
If not, you'll never have it, no matter what you "publicly" espouse.
And coming back to marketing... you'll never really do well if you don't believe "internally" that you deserve to be successful.
And my final thoughts? Life is precious. You never know how much of it you've got left or when a loved one could be snatched away. Make the most of every day and in the words of Dean Martin, "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."
Starting in 1972, Jackson released a total of four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
The Jackson 5 signed a new contract with CBS Records in June 1975, joining the Philadelphia International Records division, later Epic Records discount fendi sunglasses, and renaming themselves The Jacksons. They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Jackson was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It".
In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, and it was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall. In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operationsJones and Jackson produced Off the Wall together. Songwriters included Jackson, Heatwave's Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Music Awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.