Joseph Campbell said, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”  When things in life do not go your way, it is important you maintain a positive attitude and never hold a grudge against life.  Tribulations, are only temporary, and are a requirement for the birth of the next stage of life.  With that said, by holding a grudge against life, or thinking you are owed something, you are only holding yourself back in your journey towards your purpose in life.  For example, when I was younger, I had several instances where, “friends” owed me money causing me to get caught up holding grudges.  These resentments harnessed negative energy, similar to the crowd I hung out with, which held me back from reaching my full potential as I became detached from my authentic self.  Eventually, I had a calling towards a new life as this way of living was not fruitful. I had no idea where I was going to go but I remembered reading a Joseph Campbell quote that said, “When the call isn’t answered, [the call for a new journey in life, or recognize turning points], you experience a kind of drying up and a sense of life lost.  If the call is headed, however, the individual is invoked to engage in a dangerous adventure. It’s always a dangerous adventure because you’re moving out of the familiar sphere of your community.“  Whether it is making new friends, or starting over after losing a home, new beginnings are almost always nerve racking. What I have learned, however, is that if you are on your path that you are supposed to be on, you should not have to force anything to happen as things just fall into place with the assistance of supernatural aid.

 

 

I need to learn how to walk again and my biological father does not want to help with anything, the nearest walk in clinic to my house went out of business, and this is when my mother told me, “We will keep doing what we are doing until whatever is supposed to happen, happens.”  I have learned that when you focus on improving yourself and continue to keep pushing forward, stars will align and you will meet people who will help you through the unknowns through a transformation journey. When you are on the path that is authentically yours, things will fall into place as they are supposed to.  Additionally, when I focus on my biggest priorities, the smaller details will settle.  For example, I was in the gym yesterday and heard people talking about me and I ignored them, continuing to learn how to move my hips. Being in complete agony, and still pressing forward, people began to circle around me. Finally, when I finished my workout, a really cool guy came up to me and said, “Your story is awesome, I saw your Instagram, you have a good following, I have a good following on GoFundMe, and I was wondering if you were interested in working together to get you into a walking clinic?”  Despite the challenges and lack of resources, I stayed true to my authentic self, focusing on my biggest priorities, and all of the smaller details fell into place.  Eventually, I made it to the walking clinic and the fear of new beginnings cycle started all over again.  I answered the call to a new adventure, I was pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of, I felt like my well-being was in danger, due to the immense pain of overcoming paralysis, and I came out transformed as I was learning how to walk as a result of answering the call to a new adventure. With that said, everything happened in life to bring you up to this very moment and if you have a new beginning presenting itself in your life then I encourage you to consider answering the call and seeing where the path may lead.  

 

 

Dr. Wayne Dyer ones said, “Each experience in your life was absolutely necessary in order to have to the next place, and the next, up until this very moment.” In my experience, most notably in my recovery,  new beginnings offer the greatest points for introspection where you get to know yourself better.  On that note, what I learned, from pursuing new beginnings is that everybody has unfortunate circumstances, problems, and have made mistakes.  Sometimes life hits us with adverse circumstances that are out of our control and sometimes we hit a dead end where we do not know what to do next with our lives.  With that being said, it is not your problems, adversity,  or  hardships that matter, it is how you leverage these challenges and problems to positively impact your life that counts.  At the end of the day, as we move forward and make progress in life our present circumstances will become obsolete, empty, and meaningless as we evolve.  To sum it up, new beginnings are the birthplaces of your evolution in life and I encourage you to answer the call and see where the path may lead.

 

 

My name is Nolan McDonnell, also known as Coach Nolan.  I was named after the famous baseball player Nolan Ryan.  With that said, with my last name being McDonnell, and my first name is Nolan, that is how I got my name Nolan McDonnell.  I got Coach Nolan because I needed a catchy, yet short, domain name.  That is it.