Updated 14 Jan 2024
There I was, teetering on the edge of giving up. This was back in 2015. And I’m not talking about quitting a diet or bailing on a spin class – I mean truly throwing in the towel on everything. But irony is a funny thing because, right when I thought I’d reached my limit, I realized… I had a few more terrible, no-good, absolutely rotten days left in me. And I even failed in my attempt to end it all…
Honestly, back then, some days felt like I was trying to climb Mount Everest in a hurricane armed with nothing but a spoon, a stubborn streak, and a really shaky “brain-wi-fi” signal. But here’s the kicker: somewhere deep inside, I knew quitting wasn’t really an option. It’s not like the universe hands out participation trophies for giving up, right?
“I’m fired up and tired of the way things have been – Don’t you tell me what you think that I could be – I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea…”
The Stubborn Dreamer
Growing up, I was labeled everything from “too stubborn” to “hopelessly unrealistic.” “You’re a daydreamer,” people around me would say, shaking their heads like I was trying to turn clouds into cotton candy. And okay, maybe I did dream big – but dreams are where the magic starts! Wouldn’t you agree?
The truth is, even when people kind of supported me (keyword: kind of), they didn’t fully get me. They didn’t see what I saw. Fair enough, I wasn’t able to put it into clear sentences, not even for myself. And you know what? That’s okay. Sometimes the vision is yours to hold onto (something I only realized the past few years) until it starts shining bright enough for everyone else to notice.
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.
~Napoleon Hill
One Hour at a Time
Back in 2015, when I hit my breaking point, and “failed”, I gave myself a challenge in my waking hours: just make it through the next hour. Yep, just one hour at a time! Eventually, that turned into the next day… and then the next week… and somehow, month by month, things started to shift.
And here’s where the word “believe” entered my life. It’s what I whispered when I needed courage to keep going. I didn’t know how life would get better, but I clung to the belief that it would.
The Magic of Gratitude
Through it all, I stumbled upon the power of gratitude. I’m not talking about plastering on a fake smile and saying “thank you” for soggy cereal (well, I kinda did that in the very beginning) – I mean real gratitude. The kind where you consciously focus on the little wins, like a good cup of coffee or the way the sun peeks through your window in the morning.
Gratitude is like a secret superpower. The more you use it, the more you see just how many positives there are in life. And let’s be honest, there are always more positives than negatives. It just depends on where you’re looking.
Fantasies Do Come True
Fast forward to today: I’m living a life that once felt like pure fantasy. What used to seem impossible now feels like a daily reality – and a pretty awesome one, actually. Turns out, fantasies do come true when you mix hope, belief, and a dash of stubbornness.
From what I’ve been through during my lifetime so far, I can only be grateful for it all! Am I fully where I want to be? Are everything just find and dandy? Nope! But I’m satisfied with whom I’ve become, and where I am at my life’s journey today. And I’m betting on that the best is yet to come.
So, if you’re out there feeling like the world’s stacked against you, here’s my plea: don’t give up. When you feel like you’ve hit the end of your rope, tie a knot, hang on, and know that after every storm the sun will shine again.
Your Greatness Awaits
You, yes you, have greatness within you. And it’s not just the “kind of great” where people give polite golf claps – it’s the wildly amazing, blow-your-own-mind kind of greatness. You are worthy of love, happiness, success, and every single dream you’ve dared to dream.
Stop settling. Start believing. And when life throws lemons at you, grab them, shout “Reach!” and turn them into a sparkling lemonade empire.
Here’s the deal: life isn’t always easy, but the hard days make the good ones even sweeter. Keep going. Stay stubborn – I mean – keep moving forward one step at a time (never mind those backward steps you’ll also have to take). Focus on the positives. And trust that no matter how dark it seems, there’s always a little light waiting to guide you forward.
You’ve got this. So go out there, dream big, and make your life happen. The world is waiting for your magic.
Believer
Imagine Dragons
I’ma say all the words inside my head
I’m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh-ooh
The way that things have been, oh-ooh
Don’t you tell me what you think that I could be
I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea, oh-ooh
The master of my sea, oh-ooh
Taking my sulking to the masses
Writing my poems for the few
That look at me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me
Singing from heartache from the pain
Taking my message from the veins
Speaking my lesson from the brain
Seeing the beauty through the…
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down and build me up, believer, believer
Pain!
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, it came from…
Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Can you imagine what’s about to happen?
It’s Weezy the Dragon, I link with the Dragons
And we gon’ get ratchet, no need for imaginin’
Second thing second, I reckon immaculate
Sound about accurate
I know that strength, it don’t come, don’t come without strategy
I know the sweet, it don’t come without cavities
I know the passages come with some traffic
I start with from the basement, end up in the attic
And third thing third
Whoever call me out, they simply can’t count
Let’s get mathematic, I’m up in this, huh
I get a unicorn out of a zebra
I wear my uniform like a tuxedo
This dragon don’t hold his breath, don’t need no breather
Love you Ms. Cita, the son of a leader
I know the bloomin’ don’t come without rain
I know the losin’ don’t come without shame
I know the beauty don’t come without hurt
I know that Tunechi don’t come without Wayne
I know that losin’ don’t come without game
I know that glory don’t come without…
Don’t come without…
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down and build me up, believer, believer
Pain
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, it came from…
Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
By the grace of fire and flames
You’re the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh-ooh
The blood in my veins, oh-ooh
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited ’til it broke open and rained down
It rained down, like…
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down and build me up, believer, believer
Pain
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, it came from…
Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
