Chapter 1: Splendid Confidence and Leadership
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
You can never take a break from greatness. The only gap between who we are and who we want to be is our ability to believe in possibilities. You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible and embrace it with every molecule in your body to find the most liberated form of perception; the mind of a child. In my experience I have had to learn that I do not limit myself because I feel I am inadequate. Yet rather, I limit myself because I fear that I might find that I am powerful beyond measure. It was my inner light and capacity for good, not my darkness and capacity for evil that frightened me most. I would ask myself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? “You are a child of God” came the voice that I tried so persistently to ignore. This taught me that thinking minimally of my own potential doesn’t create the huge world I had dreamed of. Condensing the greatness ready to spew from my pores so that other people wouldn’t feel insecure around me, only led to my own insecurities. You too can control your own destiny! Always remember that you set your standards of yourself, so keep them high. This is your world: shape it yourself or you might just let someone else shape it for you. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, “I used everything you gave me to its greatest potential.”
I don’t have to fit into a mold because I can be my own mold. Only I can validate my own existence, unless I allow my own validations to come from another person’s perception. Although it’s very natural to want to find comfort in the herd, it’s those who separate their confidence and identity from that herd whose lives are remembered well past their body’s expiration.
“To be able to live openly, honestly, and unapologetically as yourself, without fear of injury or attack, rejection or compromise, is the divine birth right for us all, not just the privilege of some.” – Kate Welsh
The happiest person is the one who can hear their own thoughts and embrace them for what they are, despite how much they may invoke unwanted emotions. Our thoughts are like bubbles floating around us. We either see the ones passing by that we don’t like and try and pop them or they become so large that they consume us and float away with us trapped inside of them. I have found the easiest way to deal with these thoughts is to quiet your own judgment and when a thought approaches, listen to it and then tell yourself “I embrace that thought for what it is and have learned from it.” Whenever we utilize mantras like that on a regular basis, we allow ourselves to embrace every experience, rather than to be consumed by experience.
“Every person that I have ever met in my life or have had some type of interaction with, no matter how slight, has contributed to the person I am today. I am a beautiful mosaic of different hopes, yearnings, and dreams.” – Unknown
As these dreams are an essential part of my being that allows me little previews of what is to come, what can be and what I fear, I must do something with them. I understand that just because I can’t change EVERYTHING, doesn’t mean that I can’t change ANYTHING. No matter how long it takes, remember to keep striving for new possibilities, to find unturned stones and to never silence your curiosity. You always have the choice to be the light in the tunnel. No part of who you are is an accident and no one becomes a star by mistake.
MANTRAS
While possessing all the confidence in the universe, I will spread love and embrace myself.
I can do this. I embrace my possibilities. I accept what I am and what I can become.
Never give up. Always look up. Never stay down.
I am Valuable. I am Worthy. I am Deserving.
Today I dare to be remarkable.
I am not afraid to think big, act bold and live large.
I allow myself to stay peaceful and centered just for today, for today is all that I have.
I will not lie and pretend to be something I’m not just to feel accepted. I validate who I am.
With love in my heart, I will have no room for hate. I embrace confidence and abandon my ego.
I abandon my need to judge others, for I no longer judge myself.
I will be conscious of my thoughts and relinquish any thought that does not serve to teach me.
I will count my blessings and be aware of the positive in every experience.
Today I will not focus on my expectations of the world, but of my acceptance of it.
I am confidently humble towards things I don’t understand.
I am not better or worse than anyone. I am simply me.
I will see the value in everyone and everything, for I see the value in myself.
I will aspire to inspire in others the desire to inspire one another.
I’m a better person today than I was yesterday, and I’m working to be a better person tomorrow than I am today.
I set the pace for which I attain the things that I desire.
I will endure through hardships and won’t let them define my experiences.
I create the possibilities through thought. I live the possibilities through action.
I will listen before I speak and think before I act.
I will only dictate my own actions, not those of others.
I bless the world with my talents as I have been blessed with them.
I will welcome growth into my life and share it with others.
I am unique and capable.
Everything I need I already have; And everything I want will come when I’m ready to receive it.
I will not let life happen to me, but to flow through me.
I redefine possibilities for myself by not believing in the “can’t”s and the “never”s
QUOTES TO LIVE BY
“…Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -‘A Return To Love’ (1992) by Marianne Williamson
“Keep your eyes on the stars but remember to keep your feet on the ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Don’t let failure go to your heart & don’t let success go to your head.” – Anonymous
“Today you are you, this is truer than true. There is no one alive that is you-er than you.”- Dr. Seuss
Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you’ll be amongst the stars.
“’I can is more important than ‘I.Q.'” – Clark Johnson
“Doing your best is usually better than you thought you could do.” – Unknown
“Be the best at what you do.” – Charles W. Smith Jr.
“Everything will line up perfectly when knowing and living the truth, become more important than looking good.” – Alan Cohen
“Let your alignment (with well-being) be first and foremost and let everything else be secondary. And not only will you have an eternally joyous journey, but everything you have ever imagined will flow effortlessly into your experience.” – Abraham-Hicks
“There is a crown of light on those who are carefree. If you are worrying about anything you carry the baskets of burden on your head. Which do you prefer? Do you prefer the basket or the crown of light?” – Innerspace
“Being in a state of gratitude actually creates magnetism, and of course, a magnet draws things to itself. By giving authentic thanks for all the good you now have, as well as the challenges, through this magnetism you’ll start the flow of more good into your life.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
“Whatever you are thinking or feeling today is creating your future.” – The Secret
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
“Remember, you are constantly in the act of creating yourself. You are in every moment deciding who and what you are. You decide this largely through the choices you make regarding who and what you feel passionate about.” – Neale Donald Walsch
Standup for what you believe in, even if it means you are standing alone.
“Everything I’m not, makes me everything I am.” – Solange Knowles
“Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” – Samuel Johnson
“Imposter syndrome will have you questioning your place in the spaces that you prayed about being in. It’s a lie. You’re capable. You’re allowed to learn. You belong.” – Jonathon Pulliam II
“Life is a journey/It can take you anywhere you choose to go/As long as you’re learning, you’ll find all you’ll ever need to know.” – Christina Aguilera
“Our level of calm is an indicator of our level of trust in life. The next time you find yourself off your center, remember this, and reengage your trust. You will receive as you believe.” – Dorothy Mendoza Row
Believe in yourself and others will follow.
My presence speaks volumes before I even speak one word.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden
Follow you heart but remember to take your mind with you.
“Me, Myself, and I, that’s all I’ve got in the end, from now on,
I’ll be my own best friend.” – Beyoncé
“To understand the mind and heart of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but what he aspires to do.” – Khalil Gibran
“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” – Maryanne Radanbacher
“Speaking confidently wins minds.” – Vince Vaughn
“How do you find self-love? You dig. You isolate and you ache from being lonely. You heal. You accept. You look in the mirror and see God.” – Unknown