“Your old car is still on blocks in the driveway.”
I was listening to a podcast recently and this was a quote that came from Steve Harvey. He’s a guy that I listen to fairly often because he always has a good message. At times it comes from a religious place, other times, it’s from a not so religious place if you know what I mean. The common thread, however, is that the messages always tie back to a time he had in life and they are always good.
The story tied to this quote was about the young Steve Harvey. Before the fame and fortune. The man who was trying everything that he could just to make it. The man living with him mom and excited about buying a car that worked, because his old car was old blocks in the driveway. He says that he worked at a low paying job but would save up money each week to try to buy a car that worked. Not a fancy car, or a brand-new car. Just a car that would go from point A to point B. He was saving each week but he couldn’t find a car that he could afford. Every week time he got paid he’d come home and tell his mom that he was going to buy a car, and every week she’d tell him, “your old car is still on blocks in the driveway.”
Anyone that plays defensive back in football knows that a good DB (defensive back) is said to have a short memory. Why, you ask? Because a DB (especially a cornerback) is on an island. Although they have 10 other team members on the field that need to do their job, when a DB misses an assignment, there’s no covering it up. As a DB you’re bound to make a mistake. You’re human. And with that mistake will come the reality that everyone saw it. There’s no hiding. Dwelling on that mistake won’t get you anywhere positive. So, you’ve got to forget about it as soon as possible. Don’t get down. Move on because there are more plays coming. The really good DBs have a way of compartmentalizing those mistakes and never losing their confidence. The bad ones…well the offense usually picks up on someone that is dwelling on the bad plays that have happened. The game ends up being a long one for that guy.
One of the worst performances that I had in college came on November 5, 2005. It was a bad game because I couldn’t flip the switch. It was my senior year, and we played the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The game started out normal. I was playing my normal game. A tackle here, a pass defended there. Then, in the 2nd quarter, things changed. A receiver ran a route on me and I was beat badly. The quarterback threw the ball and the receiver laid out for it in the end zone. He dropped it. It should have been a 50-yard touchdown but I got lucky. I jogged back the huddle. “Man, I was beat,” I thought. Mistake number 1. The next play another receiver was lined up in front of me. He ran a similar route but didn’t get the ball thrown to him. Again, I jogged back to the huddle. Not sure if you’ve ever did anything athletic in Colorado, but if you’re not used to it the air (or lack of) can get to you really quickly. After a quarter of football and a few deep routes in a row, I was gassed. “Man, I’m winded,” I thought. Mistake number 2. At this point I’m tired and my mind is still focused on a play that could have been a touchdown but also a play that I should have forgotten about. Mentally, I’m not completely where I should be. I break the huddle and, because my mind isn’t where it should be, I have to ask the safety for the call again. By the time he answers the ball is snapped. Mistake number 3. I am supposed to be playing man to man coverage but I’m in “no man’s land”. Too close to the receiver to play a true “off man” with proper technique and too far away from the receiver to play press coverage. The receiver beats me off the line. The ball goes over my head and I watch the receiver catch the ball over his outside shoulder and tip toe past the pylon into the end zone. Three mistakes on the same drive lead to a touchdown, and it was the start of a downhill slide for me mentally in that game. More passes caught (none for touchdowns thankfully) and more missed tackles. It sucks to relive that moment but it happened so why not face the music? I didn’t forget about the last play. I didn’t have a short memory. I didn’t have the traits of a good DB that day and it costed me during that game. The good news is that we won the game. We beat them 27-24 and it was the first time that Army had beaten Air Force on their home field in 28 years. I didn’t feel right celebrating however because I’d played such a bad game. It was the first and only time I’d beaten Air Force during my career. It was my senior year. It was on their turf. I was a team captain. I was supposed to be happy. Instead, I was mentally defeated.
Steve Harvey said that he eventually asked his mom why she kept telling him that his old car was still on blocks in the driveway. Her answer was that as long as his old car was still in the driveway, he’d have nowhere to park the new car. You see, until he figuratively (and literally in this case) moved his old car, his new car wouldn’t manifest. The same can be said about my game in Colorado on that Saturday in 2005. Since I wasn’t able to move on from that series of plays (my old car sitting in the driveway) I never got to play the type of game that I was able to play. I never made space for my new car and it costed me my ability to celebrate one of the happiest moments of my senior season. Looking back, I don’t know that I would have played a perfect game had I moved on right after that play. But what I do know is that my actions didn’t make things better.
So what? What does this mean? The same can be said about many things in our lives. What things in your life are you holding on to when the truth is that it’s time to let them go? Is it a job that you know you should move on from but you’re afraid of what will happen? Is it your relationship that you’re comfortable in but not happy? Or is it something you’ve asked the man upstairs for and wondered why he hasn’t delivered on it yet? The truth of the matter is that until you let certain those things go, until you move forward in life, until you get the old car out of your driveway; the things that are really in store for you will never manifest.
Steve Harvey’s story ends with him getting the old car towed and cleaning up the driveway. A few weeks later, he found a car that someone happened to show him in his price range. Removing his old car allowed him to make room for the new one. And once he made room, the new one was much easier to find.
I truly think that’s one of life’s hidden lessons. I am still not perfect, but I try to ensure that when I have the audacity to ask for something in life, I make room for it. I don’t block my blessing by holding on to something that will keep it from coming my way. When I ask, I put in the work to receive. This for me has been great. I’ve found that more things come my way when I actually do my part and clean my driveway.
A new car sounds really nice right about now. I’m sure I’ll get one eventually. I personally want a new Ford F-150…and trust me when I tell you, I’ll make sure I’ve got somewhere to park it.
