Interest works night and day in fair weather and in foul. It gnaws at a man’s substance with invisible teeth. — Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

Photo courtesy of skydescriber

Have you dared to count the words ‘bailout’ and ‘stimulus’ while watching the mainstream media just now? Have you sensed that these carefully crafted words are nothing but an effort by the pundits to make us believe that our economy is a complicated subject mastered only by elite few?

The US Federal Reserve chairman is proposing another round of economic activities to revive a lifeless economy.

In reality, he is promoting a culture of consumption.

At the root of the collapse of our economy lies this fact — we have been fascinated with the pervasive notion as a society that “more” will make us “happier”. Our society has become a swamp of the fake standard of success to acquire “more” — wealth, fame and power.

If you feel a sense of insecurity at this time of economic crisis, you are not alone. We are the creatures of our own thoughts. Our thoughts shape our destiny. You can champion your life if you try to reject this culture of consumption and live debt free.

1 . Don’t fear money, fear debt

Let’s face it, the word economy is intertwined with money or lack of it. The culture of consumption has fostered a deadly item — the credit card. We don’t visualize money when we fearlessly pull a credit card out of our wallet to purchase another unwanted possession that we can scarcely afford. Spending with a credit card is a convenience to subdue our fear of money. We fear money but we don’t fear paying the outrageous charges for using the plastic that brings a few moments of fleeting joy now… and far greater pain in the future. It makes us feel good to acquire and enjoy something that we have dreamed of without too much hard work to earn it. It’s wise to get used to dealing with money by keeping it in your wallet and using it for your true needs, rather than using plastic to create more debt.

2. Cash is king

Our desire to blend ourselves into the culture of consumption squanders our most precious resource to live life to its fullest — our cash. Our possessions are lifeless but the debt it creates has a lasting impact on our life — our health and happiness.

Our debt creates a fake reality- it creates uncertainty when we should feel confident, and it gives a false sense of security wwhen we should feel caution.

Imagine you have enough money when the recession rearsits ugly head. You can invest in some of the most attractive companies in the world at a far better price than their book value. Shouldn’t we feel confident when we can purchase a share of a business at a far better value?

3. Don’t fear insecurity, fear complacency

It’s natural to dive into the ocean of despair in these tumultuous times — fear that we won’t have enough money to live well and maintain our lifestyle. It’s that sense of insecurity that breeds fear. The culture of consumption plays a pivotal role in instilling fear in our lives. True freedom comes with the faith that we can shape our own life the way we desire. That faith is buried under the pile of worries that hold our life hostage. In my life, I have learned that fear of insecurity has often propelled my intentions to new heights by letting me dream and helping me achieve financial freedom. Our government tries to stimulate the economy by giving us money to spend. It’s another form of complacency — and one that promotes the culture of consumption. This stimulus is another way of promoting the idea that it is okay to spend what we don’t have… that it is fine to enjoy life right now. We postpone the worry of the inevitable consequences until later.

I have achieved financial freedom and as unbelievable as it may sound, it is not as hard as you might think. Make a pledge today to embrace simplicity — to live simple, to think simple. I have found that a few simple changes in your life can make an incredible difference.

• Learn to live debt free - Our ultimate desire is to live free and happy. Everything we do in our lives rests on this human yearning to enjoy life without restrictions and to pursue passions that inspire us the most. Unfortunately, a vast amount of talent never shines to its fullest potential becausefinancial restrictions influence our actions.. When you learn to live debt free, all barriers to happiness go away.
• Be a contrarian - Those who achieve incredible success have a common trait — being a contrarian. A contrarian finds an opportunity in every adversity. A contrarian views life through his or her own lens. In the midst of this financial crisis lies some of the greatest opportunities of our lifetime.

When you hear word the word ‘stimulus’ next time, visualize the source of money that you can use to help you gain your financial freedom. Instead of spending, pay down your debt. Believe me, the joy of freedom will outlast the fake pride of possessions. Turn your back on the culture of consumption, and face the peace of mind it brings. Do you agree?

Debt is the worst poverty. — Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) British clergyman and author

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
– Bill Cosby

Photo courtesy of ambageo

Have you felt the cold grip of fear lately? The knock out punch of fear is everywhere— the stock market is crashing, the economy is in bad shape and, though it’s hard to believe, the latest issue of ‘Time’ magazine shows a soup line reminiscent of the Great Depression.

Fear has many faces — fear of poverty, fear of rejection, fear of heights and, of course, the fear of failure. In many ways, fear of failure not only limits our desire to live life to its fullest but also spawns other forms of fear to throw us into the waves of endless worries.

I encountered the fear of failure early on in my life. Those who knew me equated my fear with the label of incompetence. I often wobbled on the stage; I spent hours studying the same textbooks and yet still I felt an overwhelming sense of failure.

The Tipping Point

I fret over every blemish… I remember the day that changed my life forever. In college, three of us best friends decided to go visit the Himalayas. We were all late packing up until the last hour. As we entered the train station, our train was leaving. We ran with every fiber in our being and as we got close to the train, my friends jumped fearlessly to hop on the train only to see me staring at the train without any courage to jump. The negative self-talk had attacked me like a ferocious wolf. I was attacked by the fear of failure again — “Oh, what if I lose my leg in a failed attempt to hop on to this moving train?”; “I can’t do it.”

I came back home and spent the day alone.

That was the beginning of a long struggle to overcome my fear of failure. I realized that the only reason I was left out of the trip to the Himalayas was me. I was my worst enemy.

I had a choice — to sow the seeds of confidence or to grow more weeds of fear. I realized that I was making a wrong choice all along.

Symptoms of fear

As soon as I recognized the self-limiting power of fear, I made an iron like commitment to overcome it. The challenge still remained to identify the symptoms and underlying roots that caused my fear. This was the moment to confront those thoughts that reduced me to live without passion.

• Worst form of self-doubt - The chief reason for an overwhelming sense of fear is having such a low regard for who we are — for valuing ourselves far less than our true worth. This intense form of self-doubt creates a cage of self limiting thoughts to prevent us from even trying new ways to improve our lives.
• Negative self-talk - I was so gripped by the fear of failure that the natural thought that sprung out of my mind was that failing was automatic. My thoughts dived in the ocean of failure rather than dare flyhigh. I visualized the odds of failure more than the faint sense of success.
• Creature of conditioning - I had allowed my identity to remain imprisoned by those whom I valued higher than myself. The result — I mortgaged my dreams and desires to their approval and permission. Worst of all, I was conditioned to believe that this was the only way to live my life.
• Failure is not an option - I was bamboozled by the notion that failure was not an option in order to become successful. The truth cannot be further away from this. My lack of desire to accept failure was creating endless negative thoughts whenever I tried to take on new challenges.

Steps to Overcome the Fear of Failure

After dwelling deep into these sources of fear that triggered an almost phobic sense of failure, I started to feel confidence in myself and my abilities to accomplish bigger and better things in life. It was a ‘Eureka’ moment to realize that fear was all my own creation and I was equipped to squash it if I committed myself to do so.

The very first change I made was the foundation of fearless life — I began to believe in myself.

I accepted the fact that I’m a unique individual on this earth and I have a set of talents that no one else has. In short I started to love myself. That was the tonic that rejuvenated my confidence. I was being transformed from a zombie to a man full of zeal. But that was not all. I began to implement several other steps to overcome my fear of failure.

• Believe yourself - I realized that I had ceased to be myself and I had adopted the kind of personality of cultural conformity — to believe in myself as I was defined by others. I was timid because it was expected by others. Breaking the mold was hard. Nonetheless, that was the first step I needed to take. I started challenging the opinions others had about me. Soon I accepted that, despite being attacked by leprosy in my early age, I was running faster than many others whom I never dared to compete with.
• Embrace ideas, not the outcome - This was another simple yet profound change I made to become fearless. I was contemplating defeat before embracing the happiness that stems from trying to do what I loved. My fear of facing an embarrassment was crucifying my boundless desire to try new things in life. I began to realize that knowledge is important but there is no substitute for simply sticking your neck out.
• Live simply - A fearless life needs the least amount of liabilities. In our modern culture, we accumulate ‘things’ to feed our insatiable hunger to keep with the Joneses. We are a society of consumption. The current financial crisis is a by-product of our lust for things that we don’t need and can’t afford. I’m ceaselessly amazed at the growth of the self-storage industry in our country. The antithesis of all this is the life of simplicity. It brings about a greater sense of security as we become fearless about our financial destiny.

As we embark on new activities, we face new fears — fears that our current lifestyle may be threatened. We may fear the unknown events that introduce new sources of worries and uncertainties in our lives. The ultimate key to achieving the state of fearlessness is to become a staunch believer in our own destiny. It lies in the faith that we are born with the talents and skills to confront any challenges that may come our way and to believe that better days are ahead.

I’m sure that you too have experienced the fear of failure in your lives. I’d love to hear from you. Tell me about how you overcome the negative effects.

If I was to declare that your health and wealth are related, you may laugh at me. It may sound silly but there is a strong nexus between your health and your wealth when it comes to the underpinning principles that govern your life.

I can imagine the discomfort some feel at being overweight when others joke about it. I can also guess at the pain endured constantly from your own mental chatter when you are under a mountain of debt.

Being overweight, however, may be an outer expression of a body that’s in turmoil with its own self-pity at the financial woes that scare you. That may be the reality today but the good news is that you can transform your life with some simple changes.

I have some thoughts to share with you that can help to turnaround your life for the best yet to come.

1. Get into the black.

The basic tenet of weight loss is to eat less and exercise more. All you need is to develop a plan to avoid cluttering your body with excess calories. By making prudent choices with the food you eat and by burning excess calories, you begin your invigorating journey towards fitness.

By the same token, the basic tenet of prudent debt management is to spend less and use more of what you already possess. When you consciously make a self-commitment to stamp out impulse buying and learn to consume what you already have, you begin your own turnaround for financial wellness.

2. Follow the three-step plan.

If you’re overweight or if you’re under a pile of debt, thoughts to regain control of your life may frighten you. The truth is that if you understand how simple it is to get back into the cockpit of your life jet, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The three steps to control debt are:

Stop adding more debt.

Some useful tips

• Pay for everything with cash – This act itself will create an awareness to spend less for the simple reason that when we pay with our cash, we tend to think more consciously before allowing another dollar to leave our pocket.

• Make a shopping list - When we plan before shopping to make conscious choices about what we need rather than what we want, we can control our impulse spending to buy yet another item on sale.

Use everything you have.

• Develop a list of all your possessions - It may take some time but it’s a worthwhile effort. This exercise will bring a new revelation that you already have enough.

• Ask why you want to buy twice - Your ego is a spoiled child. Ask yourself several times whether you really needed to buy that nice looking shirt? What did you do with the ones you bought a few months ago?

Start trimming your debt.

Some useful tips

• Pay bills on time - When we control our spending from getting out of control, we can pay bills on time. This habit is essential for our financial well-being.

• Pay high interest rate credit cards first - Paying several credit card bills is a major act. The art of managing debt lies in paying back the most for the highest interest rate credit cards. Keep doing this till you pay off all your credit cards in full.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Writes

Now, if you have begun to wonder how these three steps above relate to your excess weight, then read on!
The three steps to control weight are:

Stop adding more fat

Some useful tips

• Fasting - Fasting is both a primary means of detoxifying body, shedding extra weight and a wonderful aid to our inner peace. Fasting is the first step towards a mind control to avoid food intake that can exacerbate our unbalanced diet. Please check with a healthcare professional before starting any fast.

• Balanced diet – Eat steamed vegetables, beans, rice and whole grain. Avoid meat, poultry and white rice.

Burn extra calories

Some useful tips

• Use every extra calorie you have in your body – Exercising is the best way to burn extra calories. Make a commitment to exercise for 15-30 minutes daily.

• Outdoor activities - Running, walking or bike riding also help to burn calories.

Start trimming your fat

Some useful tips

• Drink water – Water drinking flushes the kidneys and liver, enabling them to remove toxic, unwanted substances. This also helps reduce weight. Drinking water also assists to reduce the feelings of hunger. You may be mistaking hunger pangs for thirst signals.

Once you set a limit in your life to spend only enough of the essentials and to eat only when you are hungry, you can stop adding both fat and more debt to your life.
Once you start taking care of the things you possess and use them to the fullest — from your used car to the plate of food –, you’ll enjoy life with what you have rather than feel self-pity for what you don’t have. Similarly, when you start exercising or running, playing tennis or helping your neighbor, you’ll have fun and start using every extra calorie in your body rather than adding more by munching that super sized Big Mac.
Additional hints to help you shape up your weight and debt

Have a budget.

When our life is in chaos, it’s an outer expression of the chaos that exists in our mind. We’ve simply given up the courage to find and live for our life long purpose. We’ve declared a defeat in our mind. If you take time to reflect, most of your troubles begin with a lack of budgeting. If we don’t budget, impulsive spending takes over our mind. Similarly, if we don’t budget our food intake, impulsive eating habits kick start our cravings for the toxic food that we need least for our well-being.

Learn to be frugal.

I’m a frugal guy, so I’ve a natural inclination for this approach - but frugality can also be your best friend when it comes to trimming fat and debt from your life. Being a cheapskate is not a bad habit. It teaches you the most basic and profound laws of life - Live within your means.

How to stay both physically and financially fit?

In our culture of super-size everything from Big Macs to big cars, we are conditioned to yearn for more. Once you realize that life only needs enough to make you feel happy from within, you will be happy to eat only when you are hungry rather than to stuff your body with loads of calories that produce more fat. When you learn to live happily with enough, you’ll stop catering to your own impulsive feelings to purchase another pair of shoes that only collect more dust in the long run. By learning to set limits for both your eating and spending habits, you’ll begin to control your life sooner than you thought possible.

Once you value your own money, you’ll have a different perspective about your spending habits. By the same token, your frugal habits put a damper on your impulsive desire to eat more. As opposed to the general belief, frugality is not about sleeping on mattress with a big hole or starving yourself – it’s simply a habit that makes you think twice and causes you to be aware of those dreaded impulsive cravings that scare you to even consider losing the extra weight and debt from your life.

Once you master these steps, you’re on the pathway leading towards a leaner body and lighter debt. Are you ready to be the biggest loser?

I’m sure that you have tried ways to shed some weight and painful debt. Let’s have a conversation to lighten up to stay fit.

Have you been overwhelmed by the influence of celebrities in your life? Have you felt a stab of envy at their money, power, fame, prestige, cars, houses, boats, or planes? Have you considered buying products endorsed by these Hollywood stars? Or have you picked up the latest issue of ‘People’ magazine just to keep up with the latest buzz in the world of celebrity? We all have.

The cult of celebrity has spread like wildfire. It has pervaded our culture with an overwhelming influence in every facet of our lives — entertainment, politics, sports and religion.

The increasing influence of celebrities is evident by the fact that we all are attracted towards the fame of celebrity. Not only entertainers and the stars of Hollywood, but politicians and athletes too are all striving to win our hearts with their newfound fame as celebrities. Their increasing influence in our lives is evident from the fact that the media spends a great amount of resources to highlight stories about these stars even when the moral outcome of these stories negatively impacts our lives.

Our media feels pride in showing Michael Jackson dangling his child from a hotel window or Britany Spears driving recklessly with her kids tucked in her arms. It’s a sad state of our culture that our politicians are measured by the worth of their celebrity status rather than by substance of their ideals.

Reason # 1

We worship the greatness of celebrities but we seldom strive for the celebrity of greatness.

We have reached another tipping point in our culture by worshiping the greatness of celebrity — We see Paris Hilton more and more in the media and the paparazzi are addicted to feed on every hysterical act of Britany Spears only because our urge to acquire their celebrity status has bamboozled our sense of true happiness. There’s a plethora of magazines that show front-page covers with semi-nude celebrities that are becoming the idols to our young generation. The ethos of the popular culture of the masses has become the new world order.

Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a jackass who pays for everything. — Paris Hilton

This is the quintessential sign of a cultural decline when a celebrity espouses a way of life that can only bring misery in the lives of women who follow this advice. The underlying message is clear, “I can buy a Jaguar but you can’t”. The aim is to create a cult of worshipers who don’t see how self-absorbed and ludicrous these celebrities are who feel pride when they boast about their extravagant way of life. The underlying message makes a mockery of personal responsibility for our actions. How about trying to help those in need rather than aiming to have a tiger in your bed or a Jaguar in your garage - especially when you don’t have the means to pay for these luxuries?

This culture of extravagant consumerism has banished the moral compass of decency and the values of hard work, integrity and compassion for others. When was the last time you remember seeing those courageous people helping victims of Katrina in the media coverage? When was the last time you heard about the countless ordinary folk people who sacrifice everything to help a neighbor in need?

Reason # 2
We love freedom of speech but our expressions are enslaved by the cult of celebrity.

We all remember those fiery words of Patrick Henry, “Give me Liberty, or give me Death!” The speech embodies human yearning to think and express views with freedom without restrictions. The underlying philosophy behind freedom of speech is noble – to dream and achieve our human potential only limited by the limits of our thoughts.

The same freedom of expression has allowed our celebrities to have sway over our tastes and to paralyze our sense of independence. The malady of cult behavior has given power to these celebrities to enslave our collective psyche and to shape our fundamental attitudes and preferences with a heavy dose of declining morals. Our ability to think and guide our own destiny has evaporated in the fumes of a pipe dream that absorbs our precious life energy and leads us to follow celebrity advice on issues ranging from from the bedroom to the boardroom.

These celebrities influence our decision-making on things as mundane as what type of cereal to eat in the morning to what kind of automobile we should purchase. We have become addicted to the cult culture to please others in order to carve out our identity. Celebrities have now taken over the reign of politics and public policies that define the character of our nation. Their persona — name, charm, wealth and media savviness - has eclipsed the moral character of public service. The negative effect of the cult syndrome is the fact that a politician is doomed to fail without the appeal of celebrity. I wonder if Patrick Henry would have been inclined to change his speech if he was alive today?

Reason # 3
The cult of celebrity has turned our lives into an empty shell showcasing the hysterical stampede for public glory.

One of the fastest growing epidemics is our belief that success is measured by the degree of public glory we receive. Our collective desire to seek approval from others has grown to an astronomical proportions. Have you been dissatisfied with your looks? Have you entertained the notion that if you don’t look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, you are inferior? The increasing desire to look and feel like a celebrity has fueled the growth of the ‘reality TV’ industry into a multi billion dollar business.

We all want to be an instant celebrity to drink the nectar of fame and fortune. More is better… this is the mantra driving our economic engine. We purchase cars we can’t afford, we purchase houses that are too big, and we wear expensive clothes to create a mythical identity of fake celebrity. We have allowed the cult of celebrity to steal our conscience and sense of dignity. We adore the singing ‘American Idols’, but we seldom think about the unsung heroes who selflessly and tirelessly work to make our world a peaceful and better place to live.

The cult of celebrity has cornered every facet of our lives — our values and happiness have been seized by the growing desire to seek outer glory at the expense of inner peace.

It’s time to awaken and pull ourselves out of this cult brainwashing that has robbed our freedom to think and be proud of ourselves for who we are. It is an act of a daft fool to surrender our freedom and pursuit of happiness to the cult of celebrity. Do you agree?

Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain. — Charlie Chaplin

Photo courtesy of smidgeonofunk

Have you watched a kid sliding down a water slide? I have watched my daughter doing just that. Frightened or not, she knows instinctively that she is going to hit the bottom. And when she hits the bottom, I always see a burst of a smile as she gets up. Isn’t life a little like a water slide?

Have you felt the fear of reality that has not yet been born? Have you surrendered your dreams when you felt cornered by the ghost of fear? We all have.

In the midst of the storms of your life, remember that the only problem you have to deal with is – choosing the right thoughts and facing the storm of adversity with a sense of adventure and laughter.

Who can better teach us how to dominate adversity by doing just that? Only one name comes to my mind — Charlie Chaplin

Born to an alcoholic father and a mother who suffered spells of madness, Charlie Chaplin was supposed to be written off by the society; and indeed most people were dismissive of him. However, the first ever-cinematic genius knew that the power of thoughts and laughter could overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in life. History attests to his wisdom.

A star was born from an unhappy childhood to make three silent movies — The Gold Rush, Modern Times and City Lights that made it to the top of the American Film Institute’s 100 greatest films of all times. The secret of his greatness was in his power to be concerned about the problems he faced but not to worry about them and in his iron will to stay the course when he faced political scrutiny for some of the ideas portrayed in his films.

Concern means to be aware of the adversity and having the poise to overcome it. Worrying means spiraling down in the abyss of despair with a defeatist mindset.

You’ll never find rainbows if you’re looking down. — Charlie Chaplin

When we are conditioned by our past, we are holding the promise of our future hostage. Living in the past means going around in maddening, futile circles, with no sign of hope for a better future. I have learned to view the past as a blueprint to build a better tomorrow. Life is an experiment. Our past should act as a template to write lessons learned and the chief aim should be to improve the odds of achieving our highest dreams. Charlie Chaplin lived in homeless shelters while his father was dying due to alcohol addiction and his mother was hospitalized for her mental illness. He proves that greatness knows no barriers. The only barrier we face is the limitations we impose on our self-belief. Our past can go with us only as long as we allow it to go. Without our permission, our past lives only exist in the pages of history. If you view your past as the best result of a noble effort, you will embrace it with as much love as you cuddle your newborn child. Let’s always remember to learn from it but never forget that we have to look high if we want to see the rainbow.

Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot. — Charlie Chaplin

The irony of life lies in the fact that misfortunes strike the most cautious planners and the luckiest of gamblers. I’ve had more failures than successes in my life. ‘Failure’ is a label that we use to surrender our dreams with the feebleness of a lamb. In my life, despite countless setbacks, I have found that there’s always a lifeline to latch on to and to pull myself up with better and exciting opportunities that never existed in the past. When I felt nostalgic and decided to go back to my home country, India, a friend of mine reminded the reason I left the country was to prove my self-worth. I have never looked back since then. If we persist in our efforts through tragic circumstances, we are destined to hear the laughter of success.

Nothing is permanent in this wicked world — not even our troubles. — Charlie Chaplin

When troubles come, we feel cornered by hopelessness but even the worst of trouble can’t last forever. Troubles trigger a tsunami of worries that can make even the most stolid person ill. We know instinctively that a picturesque, sunny day will be gone as day ends but we don’t stop enjoying the moment till the dusk sets in. Why can’t we use this same knowledge — that these seemingly endless troubles will end soon and opportunities will follow. One of cinema’s greatest comedians, Charlie Chaplin, spent most of his childhood in and out of the workhouses for homeless children. He proves that no matter how difficult our circumstances, we can succeed in the face of adversity. He shows that if we believe, our troubles can shape our character to have an iron will. Instead of asking yourself, “Why am I the only one to face these troubles?” ask, “How can I overcome these troubles?” The answer lies within you and that is a resounding “Yes!” because life always gets better if you have faith, patience and the iron will to accomplish whatever it is that you desire.

You have to believe in yourself, that’s the secret. Even when I was in the orphanage, when I was roaming the street trying to find enough to eat, even then I thought of myself as the greatest actor in the world. —- Charlie Chaplin

No one has the power to thrust self-doubt upon you without your permission. Charlie Chaplin learned early on in his life that you can’t be stepped on forever unless you agree to lie down willingly to let others step all over you. He didn’t cave in to the defeatist thoughts to surrender his staunch belief that he was the greatest actor in the world, even when he struggled to barely survive in his early life. It is easy to willingly be swept away in the storm of self-pity when adversity surrounds you, but it is equally important to remember that your thoughts can shield you from the worst of difficulties as long as you believe in yourself. Your self-worth is as high as your highest thoughts. When I started out in the hotel business I was told by countless friends that it was too risky and that I had no experience to manage a business- but I was determined to succeed no matter what it takes. I have never regretted my decision. Don’t allow others who have stayed at the shoreline to teach you how to swim across the ocean of life. Throughout my life when failures led me into darkness, my self-belief rescued me with new ideas and opportunities that never existed before.

Life is a beautiful magnificent thing, even to a jelly fish. … The trouble is you won’t fight. You’ve given up. But there’s something just as inevitable as death. And that’s life. Think of the power of the universe — turning the earth, growing the trees. That’s the same power within you — if you’ll only have the courage and the will to use it. — Charlie Chaplin

The antidote to adversity is the power to succeed. I was overwhelmed by the power of the universe when I held my daughter for the first time in my hands. I had an epiphany. Her beautiful face made me realize that we are all born complete with the power of universe that turns the earth and grows the trees. We have everything we need to achieve the loftiest of our dreams if we recognize the power that lies within. It was the realization that what happens to the world begins with you. Unfortunately, we decide to allow others to define who we are. If Charlie Chaplin had allowed the society to define his value, he would have been lost with the other countless homeless children who never rose to their utmost potential. Despite lacking most of the resources needed to sustain a healthy life, he never wanted to live a life of a jellyfish — a person lacking backbone or firmness. I was written off by many who considered me a jellyfish before I set my own course to chart my personal destiny. And I have proved that life can be a beautiful, magnificent thing to even a jellyfish.

Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of oneself. — Charlie Chaplin

We shy away from things that intrigue our mind and never even try as we consider the importance to avoid a failure more important than having courage to do what inspires us most. When we receive a result other than what we wanted , we label it as a failure and deny ourselves the power to think and act on our own behalf. Instead, we yield to others the ability to create our opinion of ourselves. We value failure itself higher than our courage to overcome it. Charlie Chaplin never ceased to portray ideas that he believed in even when he faced political scrutiny and eventual deportation from America. Why allow others to build or destroy our self-worth only to win their approval? Why give someone else an opportunity to drop an anchor over your shoulders and weigh you down? Why allow the words “I can’t” and “I wish I could” to squash your loftiest dreams?

Life is to be lived to the fullest. Why not find at least one positive outcome from the debris of adversity and focus on the positive to rebuild your dream? As hard as it seems, the power lies within you. Before you give up on swimming the ocean of life, remember that life is a beautiful thing even to a jellyfish.

How do you deal with adversity? Let’s have a conversation.