The Power is YOU

Pride. Success. Happiness.

These are all things we want.

Buzzwords, that, instill in us a sense of drive, hope – sometimes fear.

Fear, because, well what if we never achieve them?

These are all things we see others as having.

These are all things we want for ourselves.

We want to make others proud.

We want to be successful.

We want to be happy.

We look to others, as we often should, for guidance.

We want to be like the people we see with success. We find people to emulate, we find people we strive to be more like.

Mentorship, role models, looking to others for inspiration — this is all important, this is all invaluable.

Yet the problem we see, is the desire, the need, and the extent we go to in order to be like these people.

The problem, is not that we look to others, it’s the amount we are willing to change, doubt, even fear who we are in order to be like those we consider to be proud, successful, and happy.

I am a major culprit of this. I can’t count the amount of times I have tried to change myself or my habits in order to perfectly emulate someone that I thought I wanted to be. Whether it was my style, my hobbies, my morning routine — I was and probably will constantly compare myself to others.

How do I be like them? How do I attain what they have?

What I finally realize, is the answer to these questions is not to become them, it is to learn from them.

It is about taking what others do and using it — parts of it, to design your OWN path to success.

You have to take certain aspects of what others do, and integrate it with who you are — with what you’re already doing.

You must remember that at the end of the day, the best diet for you, is not the best diet for someone else. The best pair of jeans for you, is not the best pair of jeans for someone else.

The best road to success for you, is not the best road to success for someone else.

Happiness for you, is not the same as happiness for someone else.

We must learn from others, take tips from others, emulate others.

But we must also learn to embrace ourselves.

To learn that the power is not in becoming someone else, the power is in your authenticity.

The power, is YOU.

I finally realized something. 

As I moved forward in my dreams of writing, starting my own business, and teaching — I was worried about who I was. 

Why would anyone care what I had to say? 

The better question was, why wouldn't they?

They would.

Or at least they might.

And that became the risk I was willing to take.

So, in an extremely saturated and competitive industry, I figured out how I was different.

I figured out that I wanted to inspire people to live the lives they dreamed of, and I figured out that being my authentic self was enough.

That being exactly who I was was what was going to get me there.

That by embracing my community, my life, and my motives — I was doing exactly what I was supposed to do.

Because no one was doing it yet.

Because no one was me.

Whether you’re a mother, a father, an aspiring doctor, a writer — whatever you are doing in your life… the power, is you.

Your power is the fact that you are the only one.

The world doesn’t need another Dr. Gray, Taylor Swift, Mr. Feeney, Kate Hudson — the world needs another you.

Because whatever you are aspiring toward, whatever you are currently doing — no one else is doing that. No one has every. single. talent, perspective, or attribute that you bring to it.

The power is in your authenticity.

The power is YOU.