rebamcentire

I love the quote from Reba McIntyre that says “To succeed in life you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone”. I’m here to validate that what she says is true. Let’s explore each a little more fully.

A Wishbone
Often what we decide we will do in life starts with a wish. Some of my earliest wishes were that I would do well in school and be able to go to college. Those wishes stayed with me and while I could control doing those things, the timing wasn’t always something I could control. As you’ll read in my book, it took me a loooonnnng time to finish college. And guess what? It didn’t matter how long it took me; it only mattered that I finished.
Another thing that I’ve learned about wishes is that they usually only come true if you work at making them come true. It’s kind of cool to know that YOU are often in control of making your own darn wishes come true. Once you know that, it’s an empowering realization isn’t it?
Unfortunately wishes that are directed at other people’s behavior can only come true if they wish for the same thing. You can’t control other people’s wishes, no matter how hard you try. I’ve tried and it just doesn’t work.

A Backbone
There isn’t a person on the planet who doesn’t experience pain in one form or another. When it comes to work, there are a lot of times when you must stand up for yourself or for what’s right or you can’t live with yourself. Work and life require you to take a stand from time to time. When you know who you are and what you stand for (there are helpful tools in my book), you will not back down on the things that really matter. I share some instances in my book where I took a stand and was willing to lose my job over what I felt was unacceptable. Not everything requires a backbone, but some things do. I’ve never regretted standing up for what’s right.

A Funny Bone
Under normal circumstances, please find a way to laugh every day. Of course, if you’ve experienced a deep loss, it might not be possible, but when it is, LAUGH. I’ve been blessed to work with some very funny people. For some reason, I just love accountants and find their dry sense of humor very charming. Find the people who make you smile and laugh and enjoy those special moments whenever possible. Spend time with friends or watch movies that make you laugh. Once about twenty-five years ago I was going through a really challenging time in my life. The last thing I wanted to do was find humor, but I went to a comedy club and it really did feel good to laugh again.
And one last bit of advice: LEARN TO LAUGH AT YOURSELF. We all do things that fall short of expectations, but if you can find some humor in it and learn from it, you’ll be that much better off.
Reba is spot on with this quote. All three of these “bones” come in handy. Does this ring true for you? I’d love to hear from you below!