After he motioned for silence, you could hear a pin drop. Then Eddie took off sliding down the run. He remained in that stance that he taught himself on the top of his car as he came to the end, flew high into the sky, and actually looked like a bird! He flew for a long time, landed his jump, and the crowd erupted in cheers! Eddie had done the impossible! He was absolutely mobbed! This unknown, unpracticed common man had done the improbable!

Eddie actually opted out from his second jump. There was no possibility he could go from last place to first, but he proved his point, he beat the odds, knew when enough was enough, and had already made himself number one in the hearts of the world.

Before I studied psychology, I was in the film industry, mostly filming commercials for television, but also had side jobs where I would help out friends with their productions. One of these projects was on a television pilot for a weekly show named, “Star Power.” My friend Leslie McRay who was once Miss Hawaii, knew all the celebrities and created a show where she interviewed top actors and actresses, who talked about the difficulties they faced coming up the ranks. The message she wanted to demonstrate was the importance of following your dreams and not listening to the negativity that often spews from others.

Omar Shariff and Faith Ford are the two I can remember but we filmed 6 episodes before the television stations canceled production. What I remember was how these elite stars told stories of how their parents, friends, and people in the industry told them to stop and get a normal job. Please don’t let the negativity of other people stop you from living your dreams.

In the Family Systems approach, Murray Bowen wrote about how a family operates as a system and all the members subconsciously know their role and are supposed to abide by it. When one person in the system changes, it alters the system causing great stress on the entire family unit. It is not uncommon for a family to attack a member who is improving themselves in order to bring them back into their proper place. Many people in the family system don’t want to change and are forced to adapt when change occurs. I recommend holding tight to the new person you are becoming and letting go of lowering yourself to please others. They eventually adjust and this, my friend, is your life and it is perfectly fine to thrive.

Shoot, when I had the residential program on the San Juan Islands, there was this one young lady, whose mother was a therapist, and after her mom came to pick her up upon completion, on the way to the ferry the mother took out a joint and smoked with her. I heard this and was shocked. The daughter was getting pulled back into the family dynamic – by a therapist? Unbelievable.

And yes, I can already hear the comments by many – it is only pot, it’s not that big of a deal. Well, some people enter treatment just to get sober from pot. Isn’t alcohol legal too? People new to sobriety, even if they were using the hard stuff, still need to work on sobriety. Keeping a clear head for at minimum a year is important for a person to have a good sense of self. After 5 months of my own recovery, I realized that I didn’t need the shit anymore. I liked who I was becoming and didn’t want to go backward. It is your call. You can play with this or challenge yourself to be the best that you can be. I believe this is what the new year brings. Now is the time to take an honest look at yourself, change the things that keep you stuck, and go after your dreams. Give yourself ample opportunities to fall down, in order to get back on your feet, learn, and push forward.

If you have the chance, check out videos on Eddie the Eagle – they are inspiring. As for you, how can you be an inspiration in the coming year? I am rooting for you.