October 20, 2025

North of Tampa, Florida

It was the rainstorm from hell. It was coming down harder and faster than when it’s raining “cats and dogs.” This storm was closer to raining cows and pigs.

It took us four hours to travel the last 150 miles. Butchaknow, things could be worse. We’re here to experience life for yet another day and the good news is we made it back safely, thank God!

When we’re driving across country, I used to be a reflection of my dad, who never let me mom drive, probably because she didn’t learn how until she was in her mid-50’s.

I still prefer to handle the driving duties until it gets dark, then I still somewhat reluctantly hand the wheel over to Zhannie. She’s my closer. I hang in there for seven or eight innings, then she will inevitably ask, “Do you want me to drive?”

“Not just yet,” I reply. “I’m still good for a while.”

An exit or two later, “You sure you don’t want me to drive?”

“I’m sure. It’s not that dark yet.”

15 minutes later, “I can drive. It’s getting dark.”

“Alright, let me find an exit.”

So it still takes some prodding for me to hand over the wheel… but on this cross-country trip, it didn’t take nearly as much. In fact, the day before yesterday, when we were traveling from Lawrence, Kansas to Chattanooga, Tennessee, I let Zhannie drive in the fifth and sixth innings. I took over for the seventh and eighth to give her a rest before bringing her back in to close out the game.

Before driving each day, I give myself a goal, a place to go. The goal may be a measly 350 miles, or as much as 800. Either way, I begin with a destination in mind. A “where am I going to drive to today?”

Now that the 2,800-mile journey from there to here is complete, it can feel as though there is no place to go.

So at the beginning of the day, I find a place to go with daily goals here at home, such as practicing Theatre of the Mind, writing a couple emails, studying martial arts, outlining my next newsletter, working on my bamboo garden, and so on.

Throughout the day I refer to my list of goals, just as I would look at a map or GPS. The list of goals serves as a reminder of what I am going to do.

At the end of each day, when that list is complete… OH… what a great feeling.

Want to enjoy this daily feeling of accomplishment?

Then begin each day with a list of goals that you are going to get.

Regardless of whether you are traveling or staying home, always, always, ALWAYS have a place to go.

See it in your mind.

Feel it in your body.

And experience it in your life.

Not just some of the time.

EVERY DAY.

Matthew Furey
Author of Psycho-Cybernetics 365

Several years ago, a client told me that when he grew up, he thought his father was perfect.

He never saw his father fail in anything, much less make a mistake.

As a result he grew up with trying to be perfect, the way he envisioned his father to be.

And every time he failed, he felt worse and worse about himself.

After he told me this story, I made sure to do something new, something I wasn’t good at, in front of my son and daughter, so that they could see me zig and zag, to “make mistakes and correct course.”

I took up the sport of bowling… left handed.

I hadn’t bowled in years and didn’t have much in terms of refined technique, even when I bowled right handed.

But left handed? I was beyond awful.

The first four balls I threw went straight into the gutter.

Nevertheless, my son and daughter watched me shake off one mistake after another, and keep on when all looked hopeless.

They saw me get a coach who worked with me on the mechanics and the strategies. They observed me as I took in information I didn’t know, how I took notes, and how I practiced what I was taught.

And when, at first, I didn’t do what I was taught correctly, they saw me remain calm, take in the corrective feedback and make adjustments.

As time flies, it wasn’t long before they saw the transformation in my game. But being bowling is a sport of accuracy, they were still going to see a lot of mistakes and failures.

Within a year I was closing in on bowling 200 with my left hand.

Several times I was sooooo close, and then I screwed up at the least opportune time.

Ugh.

Then one day I wrote my goal of bowling 200 on a sheet of paper with my left hand, and whatdyaknow, the next day I went out and made it happen.

My son and daughter got to witness all of this, and from it they learned the process of creating a successful result.

The moral of this story is NOT to take up bowling. It is to make sure your children at least hear about your mistakes, your struggles and your failures.

Make sure you let them know you are a mistake maker but you are also a mistake breaker. And so are they.

Otherwise, your children may falsely conclude that you never do anything wrong, that they are the only ones who botch things.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey

P.S. I am in the process of creating an all-new Theatre of the Mind Mastermind Group. If you’re interested in ongoing guidance from yours truly, then send an email to me by clicking here.