Ready for a game-changer?

There’s this simple truth that can either be your ally or your opponent, and it’s totally your call.

It’s straightforward and undeniable: You are never going to be anyone but you.

No matter where life takes you, you’ll never escape yourself.

You can improve your life, upgrade your habits and skills, and overhaul your mindset. But you can’t change your past or what you’ve become up to now.

So why not be the best version of yourself, whoever that is at this very moment?

Think about all the times you’ve tried to avoid your true self, deny your desires, or put on a mask to fit in with whatever crowd seemed intriguing at the moment.

Heads up: What we see on the outside from others (and online) must be taken at face value.

Recently I saw a beautiful woman with a nice physique and tiny bikini getting her pictures taken on the beach by her fit, muscly boyfriend. Great for the online persona.

Not 10 minutes later I looked down the beach and saw both of them visibly upset, her crying and him holding his head in his hands. So the internet sees “perfect body, tropical beach, handsome lover,” but she feels just as human and hurt as the rest of us.

Don’t try and be part of something because of the appeal it may have.

Instead, look inside yourself to see what truly draws you in with genuine awe and interest.

It’s like carrying around a heavy load of fake beliefs and a persona that shields you from the truth. Your truth.

Being your genuine self does mean being open to vulnerability. People might not always agree with your beliefs or ideals and therefore you might face backlash and disapproval.

Who are you up against:

Who matters more than any of them:

Here’s the thing: living authentically is the key to breaking free from the societal boxes that restrain you.

Why do you want to have people who don’t align with your truth in your life anyway?

How long do you think you can keep up with the charade of being someone you truly aren’t?

I had an honest conversation with a loved one recently. I was told that my ‘direct’ way of communicating pushes people away and that my bluntness in my beliefs and opinions makes people shield themselves. I agreed.

My response: if someone doesn’t want me to express who I am and what my thoughts and feelings are, and they also can’t or don’t express their own truth/beliefs/opinions, why would I want that person in my life anyways?

It's definitely easier to allow life to happen without interjecting with our own opinions or desires, but at what cost?

We’ve all been there: just going with the flow, slapping on a smile, and settling for the status quo because it’s easier, takes less time and effort, and we don’t have to deal with any confrontations.

But here’s the giant elephant in the room — most people are living contrary to their core beliefs and what they truly want.

And some people don’t even know what they want.

All this creates a kind of passive-aggressive vibe, which builds a society afraid to express itself and pursue dreams independently.

Organized religion is a great culprit of this. I am all for working towards a greater goal or being a part of something bigger than ourselves, but not at the cost of our own free will and individualism.

If you are lucky enough to live in a country that allows freedom of speech, expression, and lifestyle, then take advantage. Millions and millions of people in the world would do anything for that freedom.

Many people are living in a way that looks good from the outside looking in. But deep down, many of us are unhappy inside or have been in the past, even when things looked good.

I’ve been there: I had the whole ‘American Dream’ (sans wife and kids, which I didn’t desire), and was deeply unfulfilled and depressed until I did some deep introspection and realized none of it was what I wanted anymore.

6 months later I left everything I had ever known and worked for, with a one-way ticket to a country I had never been to and didn’t know anything about. Just for the sake of trying something new and switching it up.

I had to re-learn myself and what was important to me. My values had changed.

Living in a way that contradicts our deepest desires will always cause dis-ease.

It certainly did for me- I was unhealthy, underweight, depressed, and mentally unwell.

Dis-ease is what causes actual, physical disease for many of us.

It also creates a meek, hesitant atmosphere where people are scared to be themselves. And that is why we have so many sick, stressed, hurt people on this planet. Unfortunately, this often comes out into society or towards others as negativity, mean-spirited comments, and sometimes even full-blown hate or sadly, hate crimes.

Hurt people hurt people.

Always remember that no matter what people say or how they act towards you or a situation, it’s never about you or anything but themselves.

How people treat others and act outwardly towards the world is a reflection of how they feel about themselves.

I treat people and myself horribly when I don’t feel good about myself.

Don’t be that guy.

Time for a reality check — life is short. Unless you break free from the shackles of denial, you might wake up one day regretting the cost of not being true to yourself.

Imagine the possibilities if you had acted on what needed to be done, right when you knew deep down that it needed to be done?

At all costs, please avoid:

Denying our true nature only prolongs the inevitable. It’s like delaying the band-aid rip. It’s going to hurt no matter when it happens. Why waste precious time?

Do you like the good news or the bad news first? I always take the bad, because anything good after that soothes the pain.

The #1 regret of people on their deathbed is things they wish they had done, not regretting things they actually did.

I certainly can look back at my life and come up with at least a handful of times I wish I had just made the move. Because I wasted time for nothing, or I missed the opportunity altogether.

Time to stop denying you have dreams. Look, modesty is nice and all, but deep down we all want something. Or a few things.

Let’s address those lies we tell ourselves like ‘I don’t need a lot of money to be happy,’ or ‘I could never get into good shape.’

You might think there may be some truth to that, but you don’t deserve to be dog-tired at the end of every day or week, struggling to get up a flight of stairs, or wishing you could spend more time with your kids.

We all have desires. Deep, meaningful ones, as well as the little ones that might seem silly to others. These either keep us grateful or keep us focused on a goal.

Admit it: you have goals, dreams, and a desire for recognition.

Aim for them unapologetically.

Your intuition knows best. Always, always, always trust it. I know you can probably immediately think of a time you didn’t follow your gut instinct and things turned out for the worst.

Seek advice but make decisions based on that inner voice that knows what’s right for you.

Don’t let your left brain overcomplicate things with rationalizations.

Train yourself to act on your gut instincts. When we truly rely on those internal pulls- the natural GPS system if you will- that’s when magic happens.

Opposite that time when you ignored your gut feeling, you can probably also instantly think of a time you went with your instincts and found yourself in the perfect situation, or one better than you could have imagined.

You’ll always have peace knowing you follow your truth no matter what happens.

This is a superpower we all have within us, so use it.

Don’t waste your time wondering what could have been. Instead of wishing for what you don’t have, work with what you’ve got. Success is about leveraging your unique strengths- grow where you can but always rely on your natural talents.

You’re always going to be you, so embrace it and strive for success on your terms.

Les Brown tells a great story about going into a radio station every single day, day after day, and asking for a job even though he’s continuously told no. He didn’t have any skills but he knew what he wanted and wouldn’t back down. He finally was given a ‘whatever was needed’ type of role, which gave him skills in all the different departments of the station. He was on air about a year or two later, which was his ultimate goal.

No broadcasting degree, no student debt to go with it. Just mindset, mental grit, and instincts at the wheel.

Half-hearted attempts don’t get us anywhere. Often they get us two steps behind where we started, doubting ourselves more than before. Embrace action with boldness.

Don’t go through life hesitant and waiting for something bad to happen, or expecting to fail.

I know someone who is constantly in fear they will be called out as being an imposter, even though they have been at their craft for several years and have found quite a bit of success.

So you want to be a photographer? Start taking pictures every day. Buy the ticket and travel the world. Build the art studio. Find your birth mother, whatever it is.

Face it. Decide. Focus. Accept the challenges as they come. Embrace all the pain that comes with meaningful journeys and a full, passionate life.

Trust that your imagination will find a solution for any scenarios that come up. It always will.

You know who you are and (hopefully) what you want, so take who you are right now and go get it. Nobody can do it but you.