Читать книгу Strange Way to Live - Carl Dixon - Страница 7

My three sons were all into rock music and loved Coney Hatch. It was 1992 and my boys encouraged me to join them at a fun night of hockey with a bunch of rock stars, including Carl. Those rock stars were very competitive on the ice. They were athletic, but being musicians they weren’t fighters, they were lovers. As a hockey player I’d describe Carl as “a mean tryer.”

I really got to know Carl later when he came to my farm. We walked across the field talking, and he was so engaged; he was like a sponge absorbing everything I said — and it wasn’t anything about hockey — it was about life. He was interested in life.

We could have talked for twenty-four hours. I told him “I can’t be with you twenty-four hours a day but I’ll give you something that can,” and gave him some motivational cassettes. The message was pretty clear: “You become what you think about.” Two years later he presented me with a new set of cassettes, because he had worn them out. He was starting to expand his own horizons.

Carl is a man of tremendous willpower. He’s very humble. He’s very genuine. I will have been away from Carl for two years and my boys will say, “Have you called Carl?” When I call it’s like we only talked yesterday. Relationships are like oak trees; you grow together or you grow apart and wither. My relationship with Carl has grown stronger — we’re probably closer now than he is with my sons, who introduced us.

He is blessed with a strong will. His I-will might be more important than his IQ. That’s what I saw, his I-WILL. After his car accident, in the beginning things didn’t look that bright. Then he willed himself back on his skates. I know for sure, there’s no doubt, it is his positive attitude that pulled him through. It was his internal wisdom that allowed him to do that.

Carl had some immense personal challenges. I learned as an athlete you never let on about your injuries. When you talk about conditioning … there’s a mental conditioning: you have to master your thoughts.

Too many of us as we grow up become unfocused. Carl’s focus is sharp. Carl knows where he wants to go and what he wants to contribute to society; he’s become his own man. He’s spiritual and humble but has great belief in himself.

Carl says he comes to me for advice and wisdom, but I think I got my wisdom from Carl.

— Strathroy, Ontario, July 2014