What do you do when you're stuck?

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When I was a teenager I got my second car, and it was a huge step up ! It was a little VW Jetta and was a great little car that was great on using fuel ! It was a diesel engine that was unstoppable !

I ran this car like a rented mule and it was to this day the most dependable ride I ever owned !

I found a job that was a great job in a manufacturing company in the injection molding field! It paid pretty good for a 19 year old kid too ! I only had to drive 37 miles each way to make $11.50 per hour ! Lol !

I had been there for about a year and had gotten a couple of raises to about $13.00 an hour and really liked what I was doing, but it was a German owned company and they were very much by the rules, especially when it came to attendance !

The company had a strict occurrence system that included tardiness. And clocking in and out on time was important! If you were 10 seconds late clocking in the computers automatically gave you a strike on attendance! I had no issues with that ....until my car broke down!

I got into my great little Jetta one day to go to work and I couldn't get the transmission into reverse. I worked with it and worked with it , and ended up having to call in to work to let them know I couldn't make it.

The next day I tried to fix the car ,but had no idea what was wrong and had it towed to a local shop. I can't remember how much it was going to cost to fix it, but I do remember that it was a lot more money than I had !

The shop owner said it wouldn't hurt it to drive it home to save another tow bill, so that's what I did !

That night I started thinking about getting to work, and decided to drive to work. The trip would take a little planning but I should be able to pull it off. I had to pull it off !

Everything I did had to be done without reverse

The first day I screwed up ! I drove straight to work, parked and went in for my shift. When I came back out to go home,it hit me as soon as I saw the car! I parked against the curb and in front of that cure was a huge brick building ! You big dummy, I thought to myself!

I couldn't get any help until the people that had just started their shift went on break! I WAS STUCK !

After that morning I planned every move I made and not only drove back and forth to work, but also hung out with friends on the weekends!

I did get stuck a few times after that and had to get help to push that little Jetta backwards, but I drove the car like that for another year! I had opted to save money for a down payment on a brand new Ford Ranger instead of fixing tell Jetta. There would be a later lesson on why I should have fixed the Jetta! LOL

The moral of the story is we all get stuck !

I would occasionally pull up to a gas pump or something would happen that would require reverse. Most of the time I would hope some nice person would help me shove the car backwards, and sometimes it required a little ingenuity. But I still had to get unstuck and in a lot if cases figure out how !

It would suck here in the deep south summers to have to push a car in 98 degrees and 90% humidity! Get all showered and cleaned up for a weekend hanging with friends or going on a date, only to wind up sweating like a fat man at the buffet bar ! But sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do !

It's sometimes not easy to get unstuck and you have to get out of your comfort zone and get uncomfortable to do it !

Making sure I got to work and hanging out with my buddies paid off !

I was dating the sister of one of those buddies while driving that no reverse Jetta! And we just celebrated our 24 anniversary and have 2 awesome kids !

You never know what a little pushing to get unstuck will get ya!

The very best of success to you all !

Mike

PS..... Forgive grammar etc, I'm typing this on a phone which I'll never do again,! Lol

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Recent Comments

41

Hi Mike! Bet you didn't dream that that experience would turned out to be such a valuable portion of your life foundation? It is so great that you were faced with such monstrous challenge when you were younger. Since then the fortitude which was birthed in you has developed you into the successful man you are today.Now you are in the networking family of WA where you are helping so many to pull through their quagmire experiences in any area of life experiences.A big thank you from all of us at Wealthy Affiliate..

Yes I agree.

An interesting story. I hope you are not pushing the Jetta still. lol

Derek

No I got past the Jetta!
Now I'm pushing a different vehicle.
My retirement vehicle !

Best of success!
Mike

Great story, you showed a determined side of you with the Jetta, and it paid dividends later with a happy marriage (Happy Anniversary) and 2 kids. Imagine what that determination could payout at WA.
Mary

That is exactly the point!
You never know what the outcome of working your way through tough situations can lead to!
Best of success !
Mike

First-Happy Anniversary!
There were many great points in this post...planning ahead, friends helping friends, the benefits (or drawbacks) of being frugal. Really enjoyed reading this.
Have a great day.

Kyle Ann

Thanks a lot Kyle Ann!
A few people have gotten a part of it.
You're the first to get almost all!

Best of success!
Mike

Quite the interesting story Thanks

If I didn't know any better, I might think you were referring to my recent circumstances. However, i understand you and feel your pain completely. I recently wrote about the lessons we learn from our circumstances. You reminded me that we need to be mindful of and grateful for those lessons, despite how uncomfortable or unappealing they might be while being taught. I also realized, after the fact, that they require you to take a short break after the recovery period, too. Thanks for the reminder that we all need the experience, like it or not.

You , my friend absolutely get it!
Best of success !
Mike

Thank you for sharing u

Lol... well I'm impressed that you did this on your phone! Good job Mike... I'm not great at typing on a phone.

I think you have perseverance and determination and that is good. It's also good to ask for help and get out of our comfort zone. This is how we learn, save valuable time and help others.

I love your story here and Happy 24th Anniversary!

Monica

Thank you very much!
Best of success to you!
Mike

You're welcome.

You're too Mike! I wish you much success in your online business. I hope you are doing well here.

Monica

Great post Mike, getting out of your comfort zone. It's something you got to do, in order to have a better life.

Absolutely !
Mike

Surely somebody will be there to help.

Here at Wealthy Affiliate there are many people willing to help push your Jetta !
Mike

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