Against all odds…do you believe in what you’re doing?  Does your work bring you excitement and joy, or do you dread and procrastinate?  Do you watch the clock, and can’t wait until the end of the day to go home?  Do you have voices of co-workers, your boss, or your own family telling you not to do something for fear you will fail?  Or even better, reminding you of the times you did fail to put doubt in yourself.  I’m here to tell you that if you believe in what you’re doing, if it is for goodness, and if doors magically open for you that seemed impossible, then you are on the right track. Do not let those voices of others, or even yourself, keep you from your purpose and passions.

Have you failed at something in your life?  I hope the answer is YES!  The only way to have success at anything in life is to fail, to learn from your mistakes, to grow to become more resilient, more persistent, more flexible, and have the perseverance that a Palm tree has during the gusty strong winds of a hurricane.  The secret for the palm trees survival is in the trunk.  It can bend almost down to the ground, and with that characteristic, can survive most storms.

The reason many people do not get to experience joy and purpose is because of fear.  The average person is frozen by fear of not doing something perfectly so they don’t even try.  If you’re not doing something to break out of your rut (someone once told me that is a self made grave) then you’re just going through the motions of your life, and not really living.  I have had many voices tell me that I can’t from myself and loved ones.   I have failed many times, and have a trunk that has been bent almost completely over during some storms in my life.  During those times, and still today my focus is on gratitude, prayer, family, friends, church community, uniting, and the voice of truth guiding me where he wants me to go.