1 of the many stories on https://www.facebook.com/groups/OFFICIALWalkAwayCampaign
Adam Valastro
4 hrs ·
With everything going on in the world today, I want to share my story with you guys. This is especially for the people who are riding the fence, unsure of which direction to take. This will be a long read but the details are necessary for the purpose of this post.
If you met me today, you would probably never guess that 5 years ago, I was staring at the ceiling of a cheap, dirty motel room ceiling at 3AM, in a cold sweat, wondering how I got to this point and how I was going to get money for the next nights room. My family created an amazing life from the ashes of poverty and as a child, I never went without. I never had to rely on anything for myself, so I rarely did.
Yet, there I was. My truck had just been repo’d, I was $35k deep in revolving debt and I was at the tail end of a long term relationship that had brought my 3 year year old son into this world. I blamed everything and everyone for where I was at, except myself. I was a failure as a man, father, and friend. I just accepted that life had it out for me and there was nothing I could do to change that.
A couple of days later, while sitting at a red light in a borrowed car, I had the most life defining realization of my life. If it was everyone else’s fault that I was in this position, I wouldn’t be able to change anything. I was passing the responsibility off with excuses. If I took responsibility for it, suddenly I had something to change. No one was going to save me. I had to be the hero of my own story. That moment was the catalyst for who I am today.
Five years later, here I am typing out my story from my lake side dream house, married to the girl of my dreams. My son is excelling in school, the fridge is full and life is amazing. I started getting into long distance, endurance trail running and spent the last two years using that to raise awareness and to be an advocate for those suffering from chronic Lyme Disease. The thing is, I hate running and that brings me to the point of this story.
I’ve realized what truly separates the right from the left in the past few years is mindset. It is not about color, status, gender or preference like they want everyone to believe. The difference is that on the right, people want you to be accountable for your own life. The left side wants you to hold everyone else accountable for your life. As someone who’s been down both roads, trust me when I say, there will be people that try to take advantage of those going through it. The left knows exactly what they are doing. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They want you to believe that your life is the result of the greed and hatred from those who live “privledged” lives. They say that they will fix it by fighting to break that system down to the roots and they want your help to do it. Which might sound good at first but the reality is, they are trying to convince you that your problems are not your own. That my friends, is the catch. That’s how they keep you stuck in the same cycle, year after year. They want you to focus on things you can’t change, so that your life stays the same. And they will feed you breadcrumbs along the way to satisfy you while not changing the real issues.
Changing your life is not going to be easy. It’s hard to admit you’re at fault. You will want to quit, you’ll question your ability, and there will always be the temptation of falling back into what feels comfortable to you. But you can win and it only takes one thing to do it. Never, ever, stop. Once you see the growth that it brings to your life, you may even seek out adversity. That’s why I took up running even though I hate it.
Those that wouldnt know adversity if it slapped them will always say the same thing because their college professor told them so, “You have no idea what it’s like to be this or that and that makes you ignorant.” My response is always the same. Maybe you’re right but hell is hell. It doesn’t matter what you call it or how you got there. If you want to get out, the tools you need to use are universal. You either see adversity as an opportunity for personal growth or you see as an excuse for why life sucks. One is a way out, the other will keep you there.
I challenge you to break open your mind. Engage in meaningful conversation with practically anyone in this group. Question what you’ve been told to believe and make your best attempt to empathize. The people that have and do, are why this group exists and why it has become so powerful. It will change your life. Thanks for reading.