*When you are at your crossroads, you are at the upper limit of your heretofore self-imposed potential. Depending upon which way you go, you will either remain where you are, or you will break through your ceiling and consciously choose to continue your rise. With either path, you will be tested, but the destination that resides at the end of each branch could not be more different from the other. It is about this, that I want to talk with you today.*
There comes a time time in life where you’re confronted with having to change. What has always worked for you no longer serves any purpose, other than to hold you down, keeping you suppressed. On one hand, it is tempting to continue doing what you’ve always done. If what you’re doing isn’t working for you, there’s a layer of comfort that comes with familiarity, even if on the flip side of that, is certain failure.
What you are in need of is growth. Growth is not something that you fall into–you have to stretch into it. To turn from what you’ve always done into a higher unknown requires you to take a leap of sorts. And before, during, and after this leap, you will have to lean into your faith, for your faith will be tested as much as your resolve. When you truly dedicate yourself to growth, prepare to be uncomfortable. This is not about doing things the quick and easy way–it is all about doing things the right way.
Growth is not comfortable–if it was, it wouldn’t be what it is–Growth.
It has taken me most of my life to grapple with that reality. You want what you want, and you want it to come easier than it does. So without even realizing it, you develop, maintain, and execute processes that are unique to your skill set. Your natural gifts, whether you know it or not, push and prod, and make their influence known in the background of these processes, engaging themselves in an all-out effort, to see you through.
No matter what it is you want, the behind-the-scenes processes you program, never stop executing–not until your goal is realized.
Imagine being born with a special power. A special power that you alone have unlimited lifetime access to. Now… what if I told you there was no obligation on your part in terms accessing this power as much as you like, and that it even came with employees. What if I told you, that these special employees will work for you, willingly, day and night, and do so throughout the course of your life. And check it out–it gets even better. With the mind being the mysteriously unlimited resource that it is, your employees can come in any form that you choose. At this moment, I’ll refer to them as “elves.” So picture this: A tireless team of employee elves at your disposal, with each one, so completely devoted to you, that they exist purely, to satisfy your upmost desires. They are not happy and they do not rest until your dreams are fulfilled.
As long as you have your thoughts, you are never completely alone.
Loneliness can be petrifying. As we’ve all seen during our struggle with the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020, too much alone time can be extremely detrimental and downright unhealthy. I think that many of us, myself included, were unprepared for what happened last year, and the severity of it, in terms of how all of us were affected mentally and spiritually. I spent much of my extra time dissecting my habitual ways of thinking and determined, that we are all guided by our thoughts. Each of us sits at the wheel of a universe of energy that can accomplish anything. It all has to do with how we choose to use what we were freely given. To understand that last point is of enormous value, because all of us, should be glad to get out of bed every single morning.
Being that we were born with the ability to think at the speed of light, we don’t appreciate it. We tend to pay our respects (pun intended) only, to the things we spend money on. Ironically enough, the gifts that were freely given to us, by the one true creator, are never shown the respect they deserve, because we are equipped with them from birth. Due to our conditioning, we tend to assign value to manmade “things” that can be easily replaced. However, it is those divinely inspired gifts, such as love for one another, and the ability to think and reason, and our hearts & souls–these, are the gifts, we can never replace. No matter how much money you have, you cannot go to a store and buy a heart, or a soul.
To begin to see the value of the blessings you were freely given by the Almighty, is to finally evolve to a point where for the first time in your life, you begin to put away the childish things. I found out the hard way, that by staying the same and refusing to break through my ceiling, I was, in essence, acting as a scared little boy in an adult male body. I was going against every law of success and prosperity instilled in me from inception. I chose to let my fears and doubts paralyze me to the point where I did nothing, thereby, becoming nothing. The opportunities before you are more numerous now, than they have ever been, in the history of man–it took years for me to believe this truth.
When you live and breathe in possibilities, you have it all.
The ones that make it, never stop living in what’s possible. They never stop believing, that their whole entire life, can change for the better, in an instant! In fact, when you talk to these same people, they are always convinced, that something bigger and better, is always right around the corner. No matter how good life is, it can get even better. The primary divider that separates them from everyone else is they’ve removed their ceiling. They don’t tell themselves what is, and what isn’t possible. They choose to live in a space where what is possible, is always possible. When you believe that what is possible, is always possible, you enjoy something few people can fathom–total confidence.
Your thoughts about yourself and your beliefs of what you are capable of determine your altitude in this life more than any other outside factor. Your mind will return to you in infinite abundance, precisely, what you plant inside of it. This planting process takes place every single day of your life. That team of tireless employees I referred to earlier as elves–they go to work for you day and night. They never stop. So, it is of all-time importance that you give to them only those seeds that you want planted. The well-known truth “you are what you think,” is true, because indeed, you become what you think about. As you believe, so shall it be done, unto you. The awesome thing about all of this is, you already know. Everything I am telling you resonates with you deep down, because you are great, for you came from greatness.
Permit the positive. On the surface, it is easier to think negatively than positively. Yet, it takes just as much work to think positively than negatively. The abundance and return that you marvel at can be either good or bad. Change the image you have of yourself by setting out and writing a thorough blueprint of the person that you really want to be. When you stand up and stop putting yourself down, you take on the mantle of greatness that is inherently yours. At your next crossroads, you’re going to go another route. Instead of taking that slow walk of shame that keeps leading you nowhere, this time, you’re going to buckle up, and enjoy your flight.
Your best foundation for which you can proceed forth unimpeded, is the one you lay by the sweat of your persistence. To be persistent is to be faithful. All too often, we overestimate what other’s can do for us while underestimating what we can do for ourselves. Remember this: When you know where you’re going, things can touch you, but they can’t move you. It is ok to be imperfect. After all, we are human. However, it is not ok to think of ourselves as perfectly unworthy, in terms of living up to the good we know we’re capable of. When you allow your grievances to overshadow your capacity of possibility, you deprive yourself, and your fellow man, of those indispensable gifts of which only you can provide. When you know better, you should never deprive yourself of doing better. Finding yourself at this juncture is a perfect example of facing your fears at your next crossroads.
Understand, that when you shower the world with your gifts, you give a divinely inspired gift to all of us–assistance given to the malnourished, makes the one who gives it, all the mightier. When you do something that the world wants done, you are answering your call. By abiding in alignment of the laws which underpin our Universe, you will have reached a promised land from within, once you resolve to let no obstacle prevent you from giving forth your highest efforts, with regard to accomplishing the most good in the world.
When you learn to walk by the meditation of your heart, your path to the kingdom is never straighter. Your kingdom, in this realm, is not reached when your work is done. It can only be sought, because the work of good is never done. You, are the purest example of that, for that is why you exist. You can never be an imitation. You can only be a genuine servant, for the good of the good. This, is why life is so hard. All of these things that go on in the world whereby we lack understanding for the reasons behind it all–it can be too overwhelming at times. Life does not always make sense, but I do understand that through it all, we are here to walk, talk, and live by faith, not by sight.
When you come at a crossroads, you come face-to-face to what you are built upon. It is only by those difficult, interminable circumstances, that you are compelled to break through. Few things are as honorable, as being down and out, and mustering the courage, to pick up somebody else. When you ascend to this level, despite being at the bottom, you go from reading the stories of others, to writing your own. It is things such as this, that you pick up along your path.
More often than not, many of us set our dreams down in a drawer and forget about achieving them. The next time you are at a crossroads, take a leap of faith and write one of your dreams down, and put a date beside it. When you write a date next to your dream, you add impetus and urgency to it. You breathe life into it, and make it flesh. It takes guts to write a definitive date next to your dream (which is why so few people do such a thing). You don’t just want to have a dream and set it down. You want to make it a goal, otherwise, it is a dream deferred. In this way, your life is much like an equation that must be broken down, and reduced, to the simplest terms–do not try to tackle it all at once. Break it down into manageable chunks.
A goal, especially a big one, is quite intimidating. Thing is, there’s nothing wrong with that. A goal is supposed to be challenging.
If your goals don’t strike fear into you, you need to raise your stakes.
Feel the fear. When you do, you will respect it. When you respect something, by default, you will level yourself up and be at your best, because you are instinctively primed for it. Even in those times you don’t feel like it. So, all of that said, the way you deal with a goal too large to tackle all at once is to break it down into steps. These steps formulate the structure of your goal and this does a couple of things for you. For one, it provides you with structure, and a sense of direction. Secondly, your steps, pull you in deeper. When you are pulled in, suddenly, your dream doesn’t seem so far away. So, you are not only keeping what you want, close to you–you are reeling it in. Now… if you’re sitting back wondering how long all of this will take, I will tell you–it will never happen as quickly as you want it to. But it will happen (and not a minute sooner) when you are prepared for it.
As the process of you reeling it in continues, you’re taking the necessary action to make it all come true. Remember–wherever you are right now, is precisely, where you are supposed to be. You already know what to do. Your wheel does not require reinventing. You merely keep going. Most of us don’t make it through to the end of our unique path, because we stop. We come to our crossroads and sell ourselves on the lies–all the reasons why we can’t do it. This is where your dream comes in. Your dream is the truth. There are no lies in your dream. To turn away from the darkness and ride into the light, is for you not to just realize the fruition of your goal, but rather, all the things you will learn on your path, along the way.
You are the leader of your goals and the parent of your dreams. A leader is like a shepherd–he stays behind his flock, allowing the most fearless to go out ahead, whereupon the more cautious ones follow, none of them realizing all along, they are being directed from behind. In this case, you are doing all the directing. One day, you will look up, and find that you cannot do otherwise. It is what you make out of what you have, not what you are given, that separates you from everyone else. To be truly prepared for something, you must actually expect it. You cannot be prepared for what you really want in this life while secretly believing it will not happen.
The voices of those telling you that you cannot do it will never be heard over the sound of you getting it done. Get at it and make some noise. I’ll see you at the crossroads.
–Daniel Cousin
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