If there is one thing that I have learned in my past several years, it is that you are capable of anything you set your mind to. You may finish it quickly or it may become a lifelong dream, but with focus, dedication, and a positive attitude, dreams are possible! Fear will try to jump in your path. Give it a karate kick when you see it nearing and replace it with courage. Keep telling yourself you can succeed and sooner or later, you will! At one point or another you might question yourself. That's the fear approaching again...fear of failing. When I first started my photography business two years ago, I was afraid too. It's scary to start something new and unknown. Change scares people whether they like to admit it or not. But who cares if you fall on your face?! People fall on their face all of the time. The difference between you and them is that you will get back up and push through whatever obstacle it is that you're having. You will learn from that obstacle and not let it slow you down but rather charge forward. Nobody does something perfect the first time. Believe me, I've experienced falling on my face. I learned from it and it taught me to do better for the next time.
There are people out there that want you to succeed. They are rooting for you! They are positive energy and you need to surround yourself with these people who make you smile. These people may be your family, friends or people you don't even know. They are "feel good" people and truly want good things for people in general. Sadly, you will have people you know that don't support you. Promise me one thing, do not try to figure out why those people don't root for you. It could be a number of reasons...unhappiness in their own life, lack of their own support system or maybe their mother never taught them how to be supportive or how to lend a hand to friend in need. Maybe they'd rather see you fail than succeed. Why would anybody ever want that for even a stranger? I don't know and have decided that it doesn't matter. What matters are your own goals and your supporters. The real achievers failed many times. But, they never gave up!
Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.
Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for tv."
Elvis Presley: As one of the best-selling artists of all time, Elvis has become a household name even years after his death. But back in 1954, Elvis was still a nobody, and Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck."
Babe Ruth: You probably know Babe Ruth because of his home run record (714 during his career), but along with all those home runs came a pretty hefty amount of strikeouts as well (1,330 in all). In fact, for decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he simply said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."
