Never doubt yourself or your gift. Or the things that set you apart. You don't need everyone else to believe in them. You just need to convince yourself, everything else it falls right into place.

There isn’t a single one of us who has overcome the human condition of self doubt. Whether you’re a supremely confident person, a successful anything or anyone … it doesn’t matter. You have doubts about yourself.

For someone who doesn’t see a lot of possibilities, sometimes a choice is easy — you just choose the one that looks obvious.

But for someone who has an abundance of intelligence, there are many more doors than that. And choosing can seem impossible. So this person starts creating a decision tree in their mind: “If I choose this, then this might happen, which means I need to decide if I want this, and then that might happen … but then this other option brings three more decisions …”

You don’t need goals to tell you what to do. You know what to do. You’re excited about doing it already — you just need to focus, and get to it.

“Stop showing up for people who have no interest in your presence. I know your instinct is to do everything to earn the appreciation of those around you, but it's a boost that steals your time, energy, mental and physical health.”

I didn’t have any clarity on what I wanted or what I needed to do. This lack of clarity is felt in all of us very deeply, so that it shows up in how we talk, how we hold ourselves, how other people feel about us. It affects our relationships, our jobs, our health.

“That would be a huge missed opportunity, and that’s exactly what we’re doing each day we pass up the opportunity of being human without thought.

What kind of opportunities does being human bring us?”

One thing I’ve learned about myself in the last year or so is how much I shut down what I want. Somehow the world taught me that what I want is not acceptable, that I should only want what seems reasonable, doable, or won’t inconvenience others.

Can you remember a time when you were filled with an overwhelming sensation of fear, and an overwhelming sensation of joy?

I’ll go. It was snowing rather heavily that morning Feb. 1997 in Great Barrington, MA. 6:07am to be exact when this very kind nurse turned to me and asked if I wanted to hold him and then proceeded to place this miracle gift of my newborn son in my shaky hands.

Take a look at the targets that you've set. Don't waste time asking yourself whether there's something greater, there is. Ask yourself if you're willing to step up to move outside your comfort zone and get it.