By Aaron Michael

I often times find things weighing on my heart, and it causes me to dive deeper into my thoughts. We are currently halfway through the year, and I’ve been so optimistic and blessed with every day that I have been granted to grow and develop as a person. It hasn’t always been easy, but I have been open to learning as I go. While on my journey I have encountered a lot of situations where people seem to have enveloped themselves in this victim mindset. I have observed that so many individuals are subjecting themselves to the ideas, the opinions and beliefs that circumstances dictate their life. If you don’t feel as though you are living to your best potential it is important to acknowledge that nobody has cheated you out of the opportunity to be great but yourself.

No one controls your destiny but you. God (or whoever is your higher power) has laid out a specific plan for your life and if you choose to live up to it you will experience an existence better than you’ve ever imagined and the things that you dreamt about will eventually become your reality. But if you’re going to allow yourself to settle for things you are not worth, if you allow yourself to stick in a bad situation, you’re cheating yourself in a very real way. If you sit at a job everyday that’s not what you love to do, how can you ever expect to get excited about work? Do you really feel that your full potential is being established? I see why individuals struggle in the morning and they have to sit in the break room and drink coffee and try to get their day started, try to refocus their energy because they’re upset from sitting in traffic, being herded like cattle to jobs where they don’t want to be. I understand now, I see why you’re mad. But understand that the decisions you made in your life put you in that position, and the beautiful thing is those decisions can be changed right now simply by changing your mindset. It's not life's job to make you better. Not everyone is going to elevate you. Fear is as real as you make it. Some days the fight is too much. Fatigue is coming for you. In a crowded room you'll feel alone.

It’s important to remember that you’re not a victim to anybody. If you don’t like your boss, your job, your circle, your circumstances then change your attitude, and I guarantee the things in your life will change. If you don’t like how your child behaves, change how you parent. If you don’t like the way your finances look, change what you do to earn an income. If you don’t like the way your life is, understand that you are not a victim to circumstances. It is not okay to place blame on external experiences and elements and pretend that once you place blame out that it has no responsibility on you. We all have the power to change our lives and in any two years you can change your entire existence. TWO YEARS. There will always be the people who are quick to say “But it’s just so hard. Two years takes so long”. How old are you??? How quickly does two years go by??? We get to be great TODAY. But it’s “WE” get to be great; because if you believe that your greatness can be built without the greatness of others being achieved, you’re lying to yourself. No one has ever been successful in time ALONE. But you can’t be successful if you’re surrounding yourself with people who choose to live with a victim mindset. You can’t live a great life with a poor broken mindset. It’s impossible.

So the question comes to this. What do you get to do? The world is literally your open opportunity. Who do you get to be? You get to choose the person you are and how you represent and live by your values. You were fortunate enough to wake up today and to think that I actually heard somebody complain recently, saying “Oh I don’t feel like going to work today.” I was taken aback. All I could think was “You’re BLESSED that you opened your eyes. You don’t feel like going to work?? You’re BLESSED to have a job.” Now, if you don’t like your job…change it. If you don’t have the degree or the credentials to get the job you want, do something about it. But no, the truth is that most people would rather go to a job that they hate, go home and sit on the couch, and watch other people live their life on television. They want to talk to me about reality tv…like, your reality is going on RIGHT NOW all around you and you’re telling me about somebody else parading around on reality television? Or you’re such an avid sports fan that you know everybody else’s stats and what they’re accomplishing, how much they’re earning, and where they’re buying their dream home…which is YOUR dream home…they’re right next door to each other but they can’t be achieved because you’re sitting on the couch watching them live their dream instead of conquering your own.

What do you GET to do every single day? Be great! And you can’t be great if you’re going to be a victim of circumstances. Yes, it’s going to rain. Put on your coat, grab an umbrella and get to working on making your life the best life you can lead. Change your life…be great today, don’t wait for a later time…for circumstances to change. With this practice I promise that future generations will change their mindset and follow an example by people who understand and take ownership of their own successes. We wonder why children are wilding out right now, well that’s because they have no understandable or clear direction or path to follow. We have parents not being parents, wilding out just to be popular on the social media. You want a double tap on social media?!?! That doesn’t mean those people like you, those people are absolute strangers. Anyone could be a leader if there was no cost. True life leadership is willing to pay a price, to sacrifice self-interest, to earn the honor to lead leaders to greatness.

Change your life and live for you. Follow your heart. Be the best version of yourself. It’s about changing the game while not letting the game completely change you to your core. You know who you are; you know your true potential. Make sure that you live your life authentically to you, keeping your goals at the forefront of your mind. You only get ONE Life. The world only gets ONE You! Be the greatest gift you can be. The best thing you can give to the world is a genuine, authentic, happy, inspired and ambitious YOU! The greatest state of awareness is when you know you are good enough and don't think you are better than everyone else, just uniquely made. If you’re a victim today, be a victor tomorrow and you be a victor by taking ownership of where you are and changing the trajectory of your life by doing little things. Little things have the greatest impact but we love to blow things out of proportion. We don’t get to be victims forever. The power of belief in oneself is the greatest gift you can give; by investing positively in who you are and desire to be you can change the entire course of your life. Greatness has been put in you. What are you going to do to achieve it? Break the shackles of your negative thoughts and lead yourself to greatness. Leaders truly are the ones who have the courage to go first and open a path for others to follow.