What Taught Me Along the Way

"If you do it now, it'll be easier later"

"Everybody has an excuse. Don't give me that. Get it done."

"Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today"

These are three of the most important lessons I learned from my father, Shelton R Martin Sr. They served as bedrocks for me as I transitioned from being a child to a man, husband, and father.
As life would have it, I would lose my father and would be forced to navigate this world without his physical presence. I had to learn what separates boys from men and the unsuccessful from the successful without his presence.

The truth is, most of life's most important and brutal lessons appear when we least expect them, and oftentimes, when we're least prepared for them. It's in those exposed moments when we are put in survival mode, forced to make tough decisions, and required to deal with the repercussions of those decisions that we finally begin to learn and grow. As we come face to face with life, we inevitably make mistakes. We cannot escape mistakes, mishaps, trials, or failures. Instead, we must decide to fall forward, get back up, and press on. What Taught Me Along the Way are lessons I've learned on the journey.