“You have the power over your own mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength” -Marcus Aurelius

Here I am. A 35-year-old grown man finally sitting down to write the blog I was born to do. This is not my first attempt. This is not my first blog, nor second, nor third. In fact, I have lost count of how many times I’ve sat down to create what would someday become my life’s greatest accomplishments.

I have searched through my soul. I have been to hell and back. I have suffered. I have lost. I have flourished. I have won.

But this is not about me. Not I. This is about you. You clicked on this link to learn about you. You have all the same questions I once had. You want to know how to get better, how to improve, how to get through the hard times, how to beat your depression etc. etc.

If you have any of those questions, I have some bad news for you. You won’t find them all here. You’re only gonna find what you already know. The act of the matter is, I can’t help you. Nobody can. Only you can help yourself. That’s what this is all about.

You’re the horse, and I can only lead you to the water, but you have to be the one to drink from the pond.

So, I am going to tell you about my journey through the maze of self-help books, podcasts, seminars, youtube videos, songs and such, and what lead me to this very moment. I am no expert. I’m just a guy who has figured out that the only person who could save me from myself, was myself indeed.

I first had this realization when I became a fan of Rob Dial’s “The Mindset Mentor” podcast. I would listen to hours and hours of his content nodding my head along, but wondered why my life wasn’t changing. He had all the answers I was looking for, but he wasn’t there holding my hand and forcing me to do the work. That’s not on Rob Dial. That’s on me.

I used to pray often. I believed that if I just prayed hard enough for something, it would come to fruition. Two immediate family deaths and a problem with alcohol later, I wondered why the fuck my prayers weren’t working. Is it because there is no God? Is it because God wanted to punish me?

No.

It was because I wasn’t doing the work. I was giving my power away. I was relying on the universe, or fate, or the flying spaghetti monster to do it for me. I was waiting for a random stranger to hand me un-earned cash. I was waiting for a beautiful woman to look at an overweight, lazy, unemployed 19-year-old with a DUI charge to love me and value me. I figured I was just that one break away from really conquering life. But life doesn’t work that way.

The only person who can save you, is you. Not your parents. Not your best friend. Not your teacher. Not your coach. Not your pastor. Not your boss. You and you alone.

Once you figure that out, you have the blueprint to succeed at anything you set your mind to.

Going forward, I am going to write about my life experiences hoping they can kick your ass into gear. If this first post is enough, then I consider that a win. It is my newest goal in life to help as many people as I can on this site. So let’s go on a journey.