In today’s episode, I talk about “ditching the ditches.” Have you ever thought about the purpose of ditches along the side of the road? Other than to prevent unsafe accumulation of rainwater on the roadway surface, what is the purpose of a ditch?
If I’m driving along and happen to see that a car has driven off the highway and into the ditch, assuming there are no injuries, it reminds me of life. I remember that almost every road in life has ditches on either side, and while you don’t want to end up in a ditch, they do serve a much greater purpose in life, which is to let you know when you are veering off course.
Lots of things in life can help put you into a ditch – problems with money, relationships, habits, business, family, neighbors, additions, self-image, and happiness are just a few examples. The trick to keeping yourself out of ditches is to see, acknowledge, and deal or get help with your problems before they take you off the road you belong on.
I hope you enjoy this episode!
Full transcript below.
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Transcript
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
ditches, podcast, stay, road, coaches, purpose, episode, subscribe, shorter episodes, high performer, drive, helping, newsletter, futures, bomber, maximize, blog, firefighters, talk, thursday
SPEAKERS
Mike Malatesta 00:05
Hey, everybody, welcome back to this Friday solo episode. So happy to have you here. And today I’m going to talk about “ditching the ditches,” ditching the ditches. So I’m sure this has happened to you, right, you’re driving down the freeway, sun’s out, and it’s high in the sky. Visibility is great. And then you notice brake lights in the distance. And you determine that a backup is coming. So you brake and you let out a this-is-a-bummer-type sigh. Bummer. The traffic eventually comes to a stop. And then it begins to move a little. And then you break a little. And that dance goes on for a mile or so. Which is when you finally come face to face with the reason — a car is driven off the highway and crashed into the ditch. The police, the firefighters, the EMTs, they’re all on site, but it looks like everyone’s going to be okay. And you think to yourself, it’s such a beautiful day. The conditions are great. So how could that happen? How could this car, this person just drive their car off into the ditch. And then you speed up and you get back on your way. And maybe you jam the gas or the Evie pedal down a little harder because you know sometimes you make up and you forget about that person in that car in that ditch.
And when I see something like that, it reminds me about life. I remember that almost every road in life has ditches on either side. You don’t want to end up in a ditch, but they do serve a purpose, which is to let you know, in an oftentimes unmistakable way that you’re off course. And that maybe they’re there to save you as well. So lots of lots of life things, lots of things in life can help put you into a ditch — problems with money, relationships, purpose, habits, business, family, neighbors, addictions, self-image, and happiness are just a few examples. The trick to keeping yourself out of ditches is to see, acknowledge, and deal or get help with your problems before they take you off the road you long to be on.
Not that easy, I know, but ditches aren’t either. And, you know coaches, I’ve known a lot of coaches in my life and coaches are great at helping people stay on the road moving toward, you know, their futures while staying out of the ditches. It’s often a lack of clarity and focus that leads the person off the road and into a ditch. And I get a ton of energy, and I’ll bet you do too, when you have an opportunity to help someone stay out of ditches.
So for me, I’m just committed to helping entrepreneurs and CEOs stay out of ditches and achieve the goals they want and create the futures that they want and deserve. And I know how hard it is because I’ve been in many ditches. So I speak of what I know. But I’ve also figured out how to stay on the road. And having help, I think, is one of the biggest ways to stay on the road. So whether you have a coach like me or whether you have a friend or you have a family member or a spouse or someone that is keeping you out of the ditches, if you don’t have that, I encourage you to get it, because you know otherwise, it can be tough to stay going in the direction and in the lane that you want to be in. So Let’s ditch the ditches together. That sounds like a good idea.
Thank you for joining me today for this episode. I hope you got some nuggets out of it. I do have two favors to ask: one ,If you like what I’m doing with the podcast, you know I do a Monday episode, conversation, it’s usually an hour or so with a high-performer, from, you know, all kinds of disciplines, all kinds of experiences. And we just explore their stories and dig in and try to get to the root of how it happened for them, but more importantly, why it matters to you. And then on Fridays, I do these shorter episodes, where I’m just talking about something that interests me or something I think will interest you. In any event, if you like it, please consider subscribing or following me, following the podcast “How’d It Happen.” And you can do that on Apple podcast or Spotify or wherever you enjoy your podcasts, YouTube is an option as well. And my second ask is, if you want to get more of my thinking, if you want to get more than I can give in the podcast, I do a blog/newsletter that comes out every Thursday. It’s called the Inspire, Activate and Maximize Greatness Blog. And you can subscribe to it for free on my website, MikeMalatesta.com. Go there, subscribe and the very next Thursday, you will get the newsletter and if you like it, share it and if you don’t like it, let me know what you’d rather see or what I’m missing. And I will do my best to deliver the value that you are looking for.
So thanks for joining me and until next time, maximize your greatness.
