The Last Chance Saloon - Where Dreams Go to Die

*appears as originally published on Thorny Bleeder here.

“This is my last chance, my last kick at the can.”

i heard those words today… and it stung.
don’t say that.
ever.

The Last Chance Saloon,
a funeral parlor 
for ambitions not achieved.

saying these fateful words means:

…you’ve already created a conscious limitation for yourself.

…you’ve already thrown up a barricade you won’t maneuver past.

…you’ve already signed a death warrant on your future potential.

believing such a statement 
means you’ve already created 
a reality where this IS your last shot.

you’ve already decided you will try no more.
you’ve already resigned, before you’ve even begun.
you’ve lost faith.
given up.

so if you do utter those words… then what?
what are you going to do when your thing doesn’t work out?
will you just sit down at The Last Chance Saloon and drown your sorrows? 
will you waste away today, grieving in self-pity?
will you devote your time to nothing but dwelling on the pains of yesterday?

and today? what of it?
will you just slouch over, 
hang your head and mope through the rest of life, 
accepting defeat and ignoring the opportunities that are here, now?

or perhaps you’ll just pack your bags say,
“boo-hoo, woe is me.
no one gave me my due chance.” 

don’t place expectations 
on that which you set out to do.

do it for the love of doing it.
do it for you. not for them.
not for the attainment of some false reward.
the reward is in doing the thing itself. 
and loving it. 

don’t ever say it’s your last chance. 
there is only one last chance.
and that is the day before you die.

there’s a fantastic story i recently heard:

a man walks into a bar and sees a sign, 
Free Beer Tomorrow.

excited, he happily returns the following day.
he looks at the bartender and smirking, asks for his free beer.

the bartender looks at him, 
smiles… and points to the sign,
Free Beer Tomorrow.
the man leaves… sober and dejected.

the moral of this story is this:

tomorrow never comes.
all we have is now.

if you can’t enjoy today,
then regardless of any “success” you find,
you still won’t be able to enjoy it…
because you won’t know how to enjoy the now,
the present moment. 

because even when the future arrives, 
it will still be now.

mankind is addicted to dwelling on the past,
and pining for the future.

but… NOW is your chance. 
as long as there’s still a now, 
you still have a chance.

don’t visit 
The Last Chance Saloon.
it’s where dreams go to die.

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by Brian Thompson

creative coach. music marketer. podcaster. blogger.

the guy behind The DIY Daily Newsletter & Podcast.

Read my blogs at Thorny Bleeder.

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*image by Devianart artist *emptysamurai

Comments

[David Staver]

My favorite part is how this is on a music blog, yet never mentions music. Says a lot about music as a career.