We All Deserve A Second Chance

Everyone deserves a second chance. Even those who don’t want it.

Noel Rosos

Published in

Thrive Global

6 min readMay 18, 2017

Second Chances

Have you ever reached a point in your life when you said “It’s over for me”?

Have you gone so low to the point of giving up hope and just deciding that you are beyond saving?

I had the opportunity to watch this documentary over the weekend. It was about the life of a former professional wrestler we all knew as Razor Ramon. His name is Scott Hall and the title of movie is Scott Hall: Living on a Razor’s Edge.

I’m a big wrestling fan but it’s not so much about the action or the colorful characters that draws me to these types of films. What interests me a lot is the kind of life they lived. From having a dream, making it come true, losing it all when their career is over and then finding the courage to get up and make things right.

I love stories of triumph but when we talk about a wrestler’s life, it’s mostly marred by tragedy and controversy and it’s that indomitable spirit of getting back up that I am really fascinated with.

Scott Hall lived a life that was mostly tragic. Before he became a professional wrestler, he used to be a bouncer for a local club and it was here that he got his first taste of tragedy when he accidentally shot a man to death trying to protect himself. He would serve time for the incident but was later cleared of all charges.

He started out like any other wrestler who was trying to find their way around the business, paying their dues, and working their asses off to not only earn a living but to also make it to the big time which is World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE.

His career reached its peak in the 90’s when he took the Razor Ramon persona, He was this arrogant, Cuban-American bully who was modeled after the Tony Montana character from the movie Scarface and he played the part really well, so much so that his popularity soared in such a short time.

He would eventually jump to the WWE’s rival company World Championship Wrestling or WCW where his downward spiral stated. Fame and fortune proved too much for him to handle and the lavish lifestyle just caught up with him.

He had several arrests and spent time in a couple of rehabs but nothing seemed to work. He was getting worse and his friends almost gave up on him. Professional wrestlers are known to live shorter lives and they were pretty sure at that time that Scott may not last long and eventually die.

With the help of a friend, Scott got his life back. He now serves as a consultant and trainer for aspiring wrestlers and was able to make amends with his children.

His story was all about getting a second chance. The truth is, he was given more chances but it took some time for him to finally take that opportunity to fix his life and get it back. His story made me realize a couple of things and I’m going to share them with you.

You Have To Face Your Demons

Taking the life of another man took its toll on Scott and he held on to it for a long time. He just couldn’t let it go and this made a huge impact in his alcohol use and the way he abused his health.

He never got the help he needed to overcome the guilt. Had he talked to someone or went though therapy, things would have been different.

His experience is not much different with ours. We all have our own demons but instead of facing them, we usually try to ignore them and pretend that everything’s alright. What we fail to realize is that it will manifest itself in some shape or form soon if we don’t face it now.

Don’t wait for that time to come. Whatever demons you are facing now, you have to deal with it. Talk about it. Accept it because that’s the first step to having a second chance.

You Have To Want To Get A Second Chance

Everyone wants to live a good life and to be able to do that, we have to be willing to sacrifice something and that’s where the problem usually is. Even if we keep telling ourselves that we want to be clean or financially independent, we’re not doing everything we can to get there.

It’s one thing to say, “I will change” or “I will not drink or smoke anymore” but it’s another thing to actually do it. it’s funny when we think about it that people who thinks that everyone has counted them out are the same people who have already counted themselves out in the first place.

If you want people to believe in you and to help you get that second chance, you have to show them that you really want it and that you want it bad.

Surround Yourself With People Who Won’t Give Up On YOU

Kevin Nash was Scott Hall’s closest friend and he was always there to pick him up when he gets arrested or he checks in to rehab, he never abandoned him. He admitted that he almost gave up on him a couple of times but he still showed up when Scott needed him.

When everything seems lost, Diamond Dallas Page, a former colleague, reached out to him and literally brought him back from the dead. The only condition he had was for Scott to want to change. Otherwise, he will not help him.

I believe that people who deserve a second chance must believe that first. That he does indeed, deserve a second chance but not of all of us have that kind of mindset and this is when a friend or relative or someone like Kevin Nash comes in handy.

We all need someone who believes in us so much even if we ourselves don’t. It helps to have someone who will continue to support you even on your lowest points. People like them are instrumental in helping us get that second chance.

If you have someone like that in your life, please, don’t drive them away.

You Have To Learn From Your Mistakes

As a failurologist, I’ve always said that failure is temporary and that there are opportunities hidden inside every failure we go through. Failure is a part of life and it is necessary for our growth. Yes, it’s painful but this is how we learn. We have to get hurt to know how to avoid it from happening again.

Everyone makes mistakes but it is those who learn from them that gets to live happier and successful lives. It really doesn’t matter that you screwed up. The bigger question is, what would you do about it?

The Takeaway

No matter how deep in trouble you are or how bad your situation is, you deserve a second chance. Everybody does. There’s no way but up but you have to want it and grab the opportunity by the throat!

Nothing’s impossible if you put your mind to it. Robert Downey Jr. was in and out of rehab and was almost a lost cause but look at where he is now. He’s Iron Man and he is so damn rich!