Limits

The only limits are the ones you put on yourself. Said another way...you can do anything you want to do. It's not going to be easy. It will take work, often a lot of work, but if you put in the time and energy, you can accomplish anything.

Stop listening to the naysayers. Pay no heed to the soul suckers. Forget about the doubters. Ignore everyone around you who doesn't support you. Believe in yourself, especially when others don't. Rise above the day to day bullshit and follow the path you want to follow.

No matter what you do, there are always going to be people who think you are crazy; people who will tell you no; people who will doubt you; people who just don't understand you. If they are going to be there no matter what, shouldn't you focus on what you want to do? Find people who will support you and surround yourself with them, then hit the ground running. What do you really want to do? What's really stopping you?

Negative People

This can be really hard. We all have friends, family or coworkers who are negative and always seem to pull us down when we least expect it. We have to get better at ignoring them. We are only capable of doing what we believe we can do and negativity causes us to aim low. The more negative people you find around you, the lower you will aim.

This life is going to be difficult enough without them. We are going to have challenges and difficulties and problems, but we don't want to add to these because of the people in our life. If you look around and realize you may be one of the negative people, work on changing your outlook. Coach, don't criticize. Motivate, don't complain. Come up with new ideas, don't point out how everything won't work. Figure out what can still be done, don't point out what you already did.

 If people are unable or unwilling to be more positive, then you need to cut them out of your life. This can be really difficult as it may mean spending less time with family, quitting a job or moving on from someone you care about. The negative people only serve to hold you back. Once you find more positive people, you will see how their attitudes and behaviors help to lift you up.

There will be times in this life where we have to make some difficult choices...what's important to you?

The Problem With Advice

Everyone you meet is going to have some advice to offer you. Every last one. They may tell you how to live a better life or be a better leader or do something in a different and better way. The thing is, you don't have to follow any of it. Listen, think about it and then do what you think is best.

All the advice people offer is from their perspective, not yours. They think they know what is best, but often forget what is best for them may not be best for you. What one person thinks is a great leader could be what another thinks is a terrible one. What someone else thinks is a great life may feel like prison to you. These people aren't trying to be mean. They are only telling you what they would do if they were in your shoes. They're not.

You are on your own path and doing what you think is right. There is rarely only one "right" way to do something. Between right and wrong, there is a vast spread of gray. What is right to you can very easily be wrong to someone else. This doesn't mean it has to be wrong for you, too. These differences are what makes life interesting. If there was only one right way, life would be incredibly boring and we would all be the same. We're not and you don't need to feel pressured to do things in a way others think you should.

Be yourself. Be unique. You may not be the greatest leader out there, but if you are leading your team well, does it matter if others think you are doing it wrong? Does it really matter if someone thinks the life you are leading is wrong? Because they think it, does it make it true? Following the path someone else thinks is right is only going to lead you to the destination that works for them. This isn't your path and only your path is going to lead where you need it to lead.

We have to stop worrying about what other people think and stop feeling as if we have to do something in a way others think we should. Do them in the way you think is going to work best as you are the only person who sees things the way you do. You have your own ideas and thoughts and know better than anyone else what is going to work for you. By all means listen to the advice of people you trust, but always remember this is your life. Live it is such.