It's where decisions are made, and lives are ultimately defined. And which way you go when staring at this fork in the road can mean everything - Maybe you go left, take the easy path minimal upside minimal downside, proven and tangible - it gives immediate identity but also brings with it, some degree of regret not because you won’t like who you are but because you’ll never know what you could have been.

You have that power within yourself, literally to change the world as we know it. That's not a question - its not even far fetched. But we need to spend less time feeling like we're owed something for that exhausted energy. The world is a tough place. It rewards value - And sometimes it takes way longer than we like to see a return on that investment.

I've met him before many times this gatekeeper guardian of all that is worth possessing, acquiring and conquering. I've witnessed the pain he inflicts - the doubt he manufactures - the obstacles he creates - and what's interesting about the things in life worth having is that they’re never easy to obtain.

And that simple metaphor, created a foundation for everything that's come through my life since then - Right - in anything we do - There's the option to go all in or to walk the line to hedge your bets. People so often leave or quit when something becomes difficult - because there's another door they've left open - right - there's an easier way - an escape route.

What if the starting role is too much for me? What if I was a born follower? What if I never find happiness? What if I don't choose the right path? What if I get lost? What if I can never be as good as the person standing next to me? What if a life of meaning will always be something I'll have to stare up at - wishing - dreaming?

Or what if I just change the way I look at the world?

See human beings make things unnecessarily complicated. Instead of drawing a direct line from point A to point B. We create 100 reasons why it's too hard. Too Tough, we construct distractions. There is no hard - there is no easy. There is a goal - the price that must be paid. And the eyes observing from a distance, wondering, just maybe, if they can do the same.

This life is about acquiring skills and really pushing yourself to see how much you can do because you really can do whatever you set your mind to. But first you have to set your mind to be free of what others think of you.

Suddenly, it doesn't hurt so much to have somebody say something as long as it's true - you're willing to use it - as long as it's true and you're willing to take it on board and see how you can improve and get better - but first you must stop being willfully blind to your inadequacies - you must stop being willfully blind to the mistakes you make - you must stop being willfully blind to the areas that you need to improve - if you want to achieve the things that you say you want to achieve - but that's where people get stuck.

When we feel safe. When we feel that our leaders care more about us than a number, they care more about our lives and our confidence and our joy and our skill set, more than some short term gain - that they care more about our priorities than the priorities of some disinterested external constituency. Then we will respond in kind and we will offer our blood, sweat and tears, and we will make sacrifices of all kinds, to see that our leaders vision is advanced that this company continues to thrive. Not for them, for ourselves - it becomes deeply personal and becomes something we love contributing to.

Because you have the power to right now take your life back right now. No matter what is going on - No matter What has happened to you - no matter what crazy things have befallen you that seem like fate. Take ownership. Don't beat yourself up. Don't waste time feeling badly about it, just recognize you are far more powerful and capable than you know.