Life is about choices, and one bad decision can affect your livelihood for a long time. I vividly remember a poor decision I made that has had a significant impact on my life. My friends and I thought it would be cool to throw eggs at cars that were driving speeding on the highway. After hitting several cars that night, we thought it would be fun to throw one last round at the next series of cars that passed through.

When we released the last egg, it splattered right on the windshield of a police car. My heart stopped immediately because I knew my friends and I were headed to jail that night until our parents could pick us up. We were all minors. The policeman stepped out of his car and told us that several people called about this occurrence throughout the night.

Each of us called our parents to inform them of what happened. What seemed at first an innocent night of fun could have been life-changing for us all. What if someone had crashed or even died because they could not see through the egg debris? None of these things raced through our mind in the moment. There was surely a lack of discipline and decision making on our part. Luckily, the individuals affected did not want to press charges so we were sent home.

All of us involved in this incident were Division I prospects, and we all eventually signed national letters of intent to attend college on scholarship. I always reference this one night because all of my hope and dreams would have been shattered because of stupidity. It’s easy to find trouble but hard to get out of it. If you want to achieve greatness, you have to separate yourself from foolishness so you can stay disciplined and determined to reach your goals. From that point, I made it a priority to think before I acted on anything. But what if one person decided to press charges? My life would be much different today.

If your friends are not building you up, this may be a good sign to find a new group to hang out with. Remember Proverbs 27:17: Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Make wise choices, and you will go far in life in whatever you set your mind to accomplish.

Work hard. Be great.

Ashton Henderson was an honor student and four-year letterman at defensive back for Michigan State University. He and former teammate Travis Key co-authored “Beyond The Gridiron: How to successfully transition into collegiate football,” a detailed account of what it takes to be a Division I college football player and successful in life. To learn more about their mission and purchase a copy, visit: www.beyondthegridironllc.com.