I have gotten to where I am and will get to where I’m going all because of one word, persistence. I just kept moving forward. You see, the journey to accomplishing your goals and being successful is not linear. It doesn’t happen in a straight line. You move up, then you stumble. You get back up, brush yourself off, and start off again. Some days I get out of bed and I feel so energetic that I don’t think my feet touched the ground all day and I take great leaps forward. Other days I move forward in smaller steps and there are few days where my journey gets blocked and they make no progress.

Every year on the fourth Thursday in November I get to go back in time and relive a special part of my childhood. I call it my Thanksgiving time machine. I was fortunate to be able to spend Thanksgiving with my family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins every year.

Welcome to my podcast, The Motivation To Succeed - Ep 17. If you are a follower of my blogs or follow me on social media then you know that the WHY is the most important thing to me when taking on any challenge. The WHY is what gets you out of bed in the morning, it gives you the courage to face even the greatest challenge, and it is the one thing that will keep you going when you want to quit.

As humans, we gravitate towards comfort, we like to be in situations that make us feel good. Sometimes, we will forget about the bad things going on in our life so that we can remain feeling comfortable. Those bad things, no matter what they are, must be locked in a closet so that we can pretend our lives are comfortable.

It’s difficult to measure success. For me, the easiest way to measure success is in gratitude. Being thankful for what you do have. This is why I begin every day by listing the things that I’m grateful for. It begins my day in the right frame of mind to be successful and to face every challenge and obstacle that’s placed in front of me.

Do you want more out of life or is this it for you? Are you satisfied with where you are today in life or do you want to make a change? Are you willing to take on something outside of your comfort zone? Is putting up with some physical or mental discomfort too much for you?

We have choices to make every day. Do we get out of bed now or do we roll over and go back to sleep? Do we pick up our phone as soon as we wake up or look at it later? What are we going to wear? What are we going to have for breakfast? We are inundated with choices that we have to make every day. In my blog titled, Anxiety (COVID-19), I wrote about the current situation that we are facing today and how that has created choices. We have a choice between faith and fear. I will always choose faith over fear.

There is so much power in words. Words can make you happy or sad. They can calm you or make you angry. Put you to sleep or give you a jolt of adrenaline and get you going. They can build great relationships but they can also tear them down. Wars were started by words, but they can also bring peace.

I am blessed to have a son and two daughters. They might not feel the same about having me as a father since I’ve lied to them their whole life. I didn’t do it maliciously or even consciously, just like my father never consciously lied to me. I just told my kids the same information that my father told me and his father told him. Our thoughts about wealth, success, and even happiness are ingrained in us as we are growing up. These thoughts are based on what we are told by other people, including our parents. I now work very hard to replace everything I told them with what I now know is the truth.

You deserve everything in life. You are one-of-a-kind and can and will be whatever you desire to become. The reason you don’t believe that you have it right now is because of the words you’re saying and the thoughts that are in your mind. In order to change, you have to look inside you. You have to look at the person who’s looking back at you in the mirror and say I deserve everything I’m asking for.