They laughed at you.

They ignored you.

In some cases they even bullied you.

Then one of two things happen….possibly even both.

Yet…

The strangest part of all is that at first you may not even be aware of it.

And you have a high probability of it coming from an unlikely source…out of the blue…even to the point where you may doubt it in the beginning.

Then when this happens…

They’ll start noticing you.

They’ll start listening to you.

And they’ll respect you.

What am I talking about?

Realizing your defining moment and having a breakthrough in your life.

At first this may seem like a random event…”luck”…being in the right place at the right time…and something you may “think” you have no control over.

However…

You do have control over it.

Although it may not be in the way you originally thought.

So…

How do you realize your defining moment and have a breakthrough in your life?

1. The two Rocky’s- It can and frequently does start off simple. In my case it began when I was 14 going on 15. A friend talked me into going to see a movie with him…Rocky 2. And within the first five minutes of the movie my life changed…and my eventual defining moment and first breakthrough in life was under way.

Although it didn’t happen until a year and four months later when I was 16.

It was because of that movie is when I decided to take on the role of the Rocky character. Except in my case it was going out for the baseball team in high school.

Leading up to this I got into working out.

So I worked out for 4 months to get ready for the baseball tryouts.

The tryouts were for 3 weeks.

And in order to make the team you had to make two “cuts.” If you made the first “cut” you were still eligible to make the team. If you made the second “cut”…you made the team.

I made the first cut.

I was doing well. We had certain baseball drills we did. I out performed most of the kids.

The coach had us do a mile and a half run. I was finishing ahead of everyone.

We also had a simulated game against the upper class men. In one of these simulated games I batted against an all county pitcher. He threw about 80-90 miles per hour…and one of his pitches hit me square in the ribs.

Down I went.

And then back up.

Even though I struck out there was a sense that something had taken place… although I didn’t know it yet.

Then finally the day came for the final cuts and who was to make the team.

The coach was reading off the names of the kids who didn’t make the team. One after another. He didn’t read my name. Then he stopped.

“I made the team was going through my mind”…

And then he read off my name. I didn’t make the team.

My heart sank…because making that team at the time was the most important thing to me.

Seconds after he cut me (and in front of approximately 25 kids…most of whom I grew up with…and some who would pick on me) he said…

“You have more guts than anyone I’ve ever seen. Come out for the team next year and you’ll probably make it.”

At the moment he said this I was thinking, “great well why didn’t I make it this year.”

However…

Something else happened in that moment. I just wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

What I did realize though was…what he said was a similar line in the Rocky movie where the announcer said, “You have just witnessed the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring.”

And…

The same baseball coach who said that to me…and cut me from the team…his name was Rocky.

As a result of this came my defining moment and (first) major breakthrough…even though I wasn’t completely aware of it at that moment.

Think about the different situations in your life.

Think about the moments that did and didn’t go your way…

Because somewhere in there is your defining moment that leads to the breakthrough in your life.

I’ll be coming back to this in a minute.

2. Your recurring breakthroughs- That day I got cut from the team was the last time I played baseball. Even though I knew I would make the team the following year I never went out for the team. At the time this was out of character for me because I loved playing baseball.

For some reason when Rocky (the baseball coach) made that comment to me my life as I knew it was about to change…fast.

At the time I was a shy and quiet person…I became more outgoing.

At the time I was getting somewhat bullied by other kids…that stopped because I was now standing up for myself.

Leading up to that point in time I was “conservative”…I now started taking more risks.

I went from being unknown to being more popular.

I was more respected.

It also paved the way for me to make a lifetime commitment to working out…which I still do to this very day.

And just moving forward from the day Rocky made that comment I could tell it was my defining moment. Not only that but it led to all of these other little breakthroughs I experienced…and still do in many ways to this day.

The most fascinating part of all…

When Rocky cut me from the team…in that same moment he “rejected” me (cutting me from the team)…he “accepted” me (by making a simple comment that changed the course of my life)

This is the major takeaway for you in your life.

And it goes back to what I said a few minutes ago.

When looking to realize your defining moment and having those breakthroughs in your life…

Look at the different moments that did and didn’t go your way. In the process of doing so look for the equal amounts of positives and negatives, praise and criticism, support and challenge, pleasure and pain, acceptance and rejection.

Because when you do and are able to see both sides occurring equally…and simultaneously…you’ll find your defining moment.

Along with that you’ll have a high probability of experiencing a major breakthrough in your life.

And…

You’ll also get into the habit of having recurring breakthroughs.

This is why—like I said earlier—you do have control of this. It’s not some “random” thing…or “luck”…or some type of so called “karma.”

You do control your destiny…and those defining moments that make up the breakthroughs in your life.

3. Thank you to all- I never would have thought (back then) that something which turned out to not go the way I wanted…actually ended up in many ways saving my life…

Because after all, who thinks about not accomplishing what they want…but then having that turn out to be a ‘blessing?”

In fact this gives rise to something I’ve said many times…

“In every crisis there’s a blessing…and in every blessing there’s a crisis.”

This is the true essence…the “root” if you will…to having those defining moments and breakthroughs occur throughout your life.

It also gives rise to 2 of the 5 most important words you’ll ever say in your life…

“Thank you.”

In my case…

“Thank you” to Rocky (the baseball coach) who made a little comment that changed the course a 16 yr. old kid’s life.

“Thank you” to the other Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) for creating a character that inspired me to emulate in my own unique way.

“Thank you” to every other person in my life…family, friends, acquaintances, fellow colleagues, so called “enemies”, and even those I’ve never met who have contributed in some way to my life.

And certainly “Thank you” to you for reading what I write…and for listening to what I speak about.

When it comes to you…

Who can you say “thank you” to?

Who has contributed the most to your life?

Who has been there with you and helped you up when you were “down?”

Who said something…who did something…that helped you in some way in your life?

Who contributed to you having your own defining moments and breakthroughs in your life?

If you haven’t taken the time to thank all of these people…now is the time to do so.

And most of all…

“Thank yourself” for all that you do.

Because whether you know it or not…

You do contribute a tremendous amount of value to the world in your own unique and special way.