1 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication 2 Law, Alvin, 1960- Alvin’s Laws of Life: 5 Steps to Successfully Overcome Anything / Alvin Law. ISBN 0-9739450-0-1 1. Self-Actualization (Psychology). I. Title. BF637.S4L359 2005 158.1 C2005-906468-4 © 2006 Alvin Law ISBN 0-9739450-0-1 All rights reserved – no part of this book may be produced in any form, or by any means, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission from the publisher. Publisher AJL Communications Ltd. 273 Sunmills Drive SE Calgary, Alberta T2X 3E6 Canada [email protected] www.alvinlaw.com Project Management and Editing Debbie Elicksen, Freelance Communications, Calgary, Alberta Design and Layout Nadien Cole Advertising, Calgary, Alberta Cover and Section Photographs Mitch B. Hippsley, Yorkton, Saskatchewan Printing Friesens, Altona, Manitoba Alvin’s Laws of Life – 1st Edition Printed and Bound in Canada Copyright 2006 Second Printing 2007 table of contents 3 Foreword 5 Alvin’s Laws of Life 7 Chapter One Imagine 8 Section I - Attitude Chapter Two History 101 14 Chapter Three Curiosity is Good For All Cats 18 Chapter Four What’s Your Box? 21 Section II - Learning Chapter Five Have Feet Will Travel 26 Chapter Six The Learning Begins 28 Chapter Seven If It Ain’t Broke…Fix It 30 Chapter Eight School…Bring It On 33 Section III - Value Chapter Nine Reality 40 Chapter Ten Everyone Has Value 49 Chapter Eleven My Symphony 54 Chapter Twelve Play Ball 57 Section IV - Imagination Chapter Thirteen Christmas in May 64 Chapter Fourteen Start Me Up 70 Chapter Fifteen Wake Up Call 74 Chapter Sixteen Change Is Good 82 Chapter Seventeen Who Let the Dog Out? 85 Chapter Eighteen Drummer Boy 90 Chapter Nineteen The Journey to Self-Acceptance 95 Section V - Never Give Up! Chapter Twenty Breakthrough 104 Chapter Twenty-one Camp Easter Seal 109 Chapter Twenty-two The Best of Both Worlds 117 Chapter Twenty-three Proof 127 Chapter Twenty-four Time for Me to Fly 134 Acknowledgements 141 About the Author 144 4 dedication For Mom and Dad: what I know is because of you. For Vance: because being a dad taught me what my parents couldn’t. For Darlene: for your love, acceptance, and encouragement. It has been worth my while. foreword 5 I remember the first time I ever had a speaker touch my heart, back in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, my hometown. Yorkton was a great community to grow up in, but when I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate it. It was small – small enough that we didn’t get big concerts or shows. In the fall of 1976, the students of Yorkton Regional High School were told we were going to have a world-class motivational speaker come to our school. I remember the event like it was yesterday. Coming to school that morning, I was curious about what we were going to see. We certainly were not on the regular motivational speaker circuit, and I didn’t know anyone else that had ever sat in front of a motivational speaker. It was not so different than any events or assemblies we had had in the past. Whenever we had an assembly, we would file down to our theatre and act like respectful teenagers. Our principal, Mr. Matthews, was very dedicated to motivation and positive thinking and was always looking for new ways to inspire us to be better. We weren’t really surprised to be having something so different being presented to us. We learned that assemblies, although not always very interesting or entertaining, were almost always better than being in class. Mr. Matthews introduced our guest. This well-dressed gentleman walked out onto the stage and started to talk. By the time I was sixteen, I was more than a little cynical of lecturing. But this man truly was amazing. He was powerful, passionate, and the most polished presenter I had ever seen in my entire life. I sat in the audience in awe of him, not knowing what to think. This was the happiest human being I had ever seen in my entire life; I hated him. He was so happy he was annoying. Do you know anybody like this? I bet he was happy twenty-four hours a day and drove everyone around him crazy. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he got about a half hour into his 6 program and then changed his pace. He became real intense, real focused, and real quiet then said, “Do you teenagers realize that these are the best days of your life!” Okay, I don’t know what your teenage life was like, but the first thought that hit my head, ‘Oh-oh, that’s not good news!’ I was sixteen years old. I had no arms. I was living in rural Saskatchewan where nothing ever happened. I had greasy, poofy, ugly hair. I had acne everywhere. I had buckteeth with braces, and my name was Alvin! Man, if these are the best days of my life, maybe I should quit right now! I always tell that story for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it’s true, and as a funny story, it’s great for breaking the ice. More than that, I think it’s about credibility. Adults are always telling teenagers to enjoy that time in their life, to relax and not take things so seriously. There is plenty of time in the future to worry about getting a university degree, to have a serious relationship, buying a house, and the list goes on. What we forget is that we are giving this advice out of hindsight. I don’t know anyone who sailed through their teenage years on a magic carpet with no anxieties about life, school, and relationships. It is in our teenage life that we learn about these things and how to deal with them. I keep that story in mind when I talk to any audience – not just teenagers. I try to relate my experiences so that others can learn from them, but more than that, I want people to listen to my stories and think about similar stories in their own lives. Because we all have a similar story – it’s called life. So, what I did was develop what I call “Alvin’s Laws of Life.” Get it? Alvin Law, Alvin’s Laws? Five steps to help me successfully get through life. Do I wish I had these “Laws” when I was growing up? You bet! Actually, when I look back, I did have these laws; I just didn’t know it yet. It was because of what I went through in life and learned along the way that I can now look back and realize it was what I went through that made me the person I am. Now it’s up to me to be the person I want to be. 7 is more than just being positive – it’s a way of looking at life, ours and everybody’s. It is said to be everything because it is everything. It defines who we are and what we become. is the greatest gift we give ourselves. It can transform us from nobody to somebody and is the great equalizer. To not learn as much as we can is to disrespect the gift of life. In learning, we must also ask questions. That’s good because people need to listen more and talk less. There is knowledge all around us; we just have to listen for the answer. To listen is to learn, and to learn is to grow. your life and spirit. Too many people live another “V,” that of victim. It’s true, bad things happen to good people, and there are victims. The trouble is there’s no answer to the question, “Why me?” Even worse, victims often get stuck in their past when what they need is to live for today and move toward the future. When you focus on moving forward, you never know what you’ll discover. Everyone has value – finding it, that’s the trick. is the key that unlocks the power of potential. It is not owned by the young, but they are best at using it. It defines the difference between obstacles and possibilities. Imagination leads to dreams, and dreams make life worth living. Dreams can come true…this I know. Easy to say, hard to do. The biggest enemy we will ever have we encounter every time we look in a mirror. Yet mirrors do not reflect who we truly are – our lives do. 8 chapter one imagine You’re about to read a great story. In fact, make sure you make a point of remembering who you are right now, because I promise when you are done, you’ll be different. Will you be perfect? No such thing. If you think you’re already perfect, good for you. I can relate because I feel really close to perfect, which is a major problem. Seriously, I started writing this book when I was thirty-five years, old and now I’m forty-five. Do the math. I am a perfectionist, and it’s not my fault. (Notice how I slip into lack of accountability, a perfectionist’s trait?) By the way, I hope you have an open mind because this isn’t just another self-help book. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that people buy such books because they (you, perhaps) feel a need to get out of a rut, fix a pattern of bad decisions, or just try to improve.