Original Source - Herald Sun
THE mantra of Todd Carney's resurrection is now etched forever on the body he almost destroyed.
For many NRL players, body ink is a fashion statement. For Carney, it is a mission statement.
Nothing sums up the journey he has endured from bad boy to Dally M winner like his latest off-season addition.
A 13-line tattoo that explains Carney's new-found outlook on life and the creed he lives by. "Life's to [sic] short to wake up in the morning with regret so love the ones who treat you right and forget the ones who don't," says the first sentence of the latest handiwork of the boys from Bondi Ink.
"Remember everything happens for a reason. If it changes your life. Let it.
"No one said it would be easy. They just promised it would be worth it to live your life and chase your dreams."
Sacked from Canberra in 2008 for his infamous rap sheet of booze-filled dramas and forced to spend a season in rugby league purgatory, Carney last year quit the drink and delivered the feel-good story of the year to scale from bush football to a grand final with the Roosters, the Dally M Medal and a Kangaroos jersey.
And while he admits to cracking a few beers over summer, the 24-year-old has vowed to maintain another season of abstinence and is determined to prove 2010 was no one-off.
With his torso and arms swathed in all manner of stars and inked logos, Carney had his latest tattoo needled in a month ago.
And though he was coy about the motives and meaning of his latest work, unveiled during a gruelling pre-season workout at Moore Park yesterday, the man Blues fans have anointed as their Origin saviour in 2011 admits the words sum up his tumultuous journey of the past two years.
"It's just something that's close to me ... just something personal and really for me and not for anyone else to know," Carney said.
Did it reflect his attitude to life and the knocks he has taken? "Yeah that's one of the reasons why I got it," he said. "The message is clear. You can't turn back time and worry about things. If you could, no one would have a worry in their life.
"There are always changes in life - you've got to let them happen."
Carney does plan to fix one mistake though. He aims to get the grammatical error in his tat fixed when he next steps into Bondi Ink, changing "Life's to short" to read "Life's too short".
Indeed it is.
Original Source - Herald Sun
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