He started sucking the helium and said to me in the funniest voice you can imagine..

"Hey dad, do I sound funny?"

"Yes, son you sound funny."

A that point, I tapped him with my right hand and said, "Did I ever tell you the story of what happened to me when I was doing the same thing at your age?"

Back in the day, I too was at the fair, thinking it was hilarious to make my voice sound ridiculous. I was walking along next to my family, talking like a munchkin from Wizard of Oz and all of a sudden I passed out and keeled over backward onto the ground.

(My family has never let me live that proud moment down)

Anyway, I asked Kyson if I'd ever told him that story, I looked over to the left side of the path we were walking on, and when I looked back to the right where Kyson had been walking next to me...

I saw that he was face planted, on the ground, sprawled out face-first on the pavement.

I rushed down to check on him, as did a flood of other people who were worried about him.

One lady said "WE HAVE A SEIZURE HAPPENING HERE!"

I told her that it wasn't that, and that he had been sucking helium.

I wasn't too worried about it, but everyone around me seemed to be.

I picked him up, and he came to... He was fine, other than a few scratches.

We continued to walk, and I finished my story of how that exact same thing had happened to me when I was his age.

He couldn't believe that he'd done the same thing his dad did.

We were both laughing and that's when I had the idea of turning this situation into something that might be valuable for him and his future.

I said, "Kyson, this probably just means that you're just like your dad, which means you're probably going to be successful in life too."

He got a HUGE grin on his face when I said that.

This could have easily been a moment that filled his heart and mind with shame and embarrassment for the rest of his life.

Instead, hopefully it will be something that he can smile on as he remembers the positive meaning we filled it with.

One of the most powerful lessons I ever learned, is that we as humans are meaning makers.

Life is filled with things, and happenings, and we as conscious beings have the ability to make those things and happenings mean almost, whatever we want them to mean.

I've noticed over the years, in working with lots and lots of people, that some who haven't yet found the success they're looking for, have the habit of saying things like...

"I haven't made a sale yet... that means this business doesn't work."

"I haven't got any leads yet... and that means I can't do this."

The most successful people I've worked with tend to do the opposite.

They say things like... "Man, it's been a whole year and I haven't yet made a sale, that means I have the essential attribute of persistence which means I'm guaranteed to win, as long as I keep moving forward."

I actually DID go my entire first year in home business without earning a single dollar.

Thankfully, I had great mentors who taught me how to be a powerful meaning maker and I stayed in the game and eventually, learned how to build a business big enough that I was able to retire at 40 years young.

WAHOOOOO!

I'm so thankful for this lesson and I hope that it has helped my son, and that it can help you and your loved ones as we strive to continue to be positive meaning makers for ourselves and those we love.

Thanks for reading and whatever you do, always go for your dreams.

Paul