I Went To The Limit And Discovered There Is None
Starting 2012 with unfulfilled 2011 resolutions, flat broke, depressed and worn out is not the ideal way to start a New Year. In fact, even if you are not financially broke, struggling financially can be an indication that your financial status is on track to change from struggling to flat broke.
Breaking free from the slavery of cynicism and incredulity is not actually difficult. What is difficult, however, is staying free from it. I learned the secret to moving beyond where I didn’t want to be, to where I did, and also how I wanted my life to be. Most people have the natural propensity to repeat the negatives of their life because of the fear of repeating them. This was me, and I wanted change, but I didn’t know exactly what I needed to change. I was broke, severely depressed and felt completely powerless to do anything about it. I was ready to give up on my dreams and get a regular job just like everyone else I knew. Until, one day, something clicked on the inside of me.
Most people who are looking for ‘how-to-advice’ are familiar with getting little, if any results. This is because they don’t take action, or if they do, they usually don’t keep striving and going-all-out after hitting the inevitable barricades. If you want to succeed, you need an open mind and an ability to try things a little different than you’re used to. If you’re simply buying “how to” information and never using it, you’re probably wasting your time. But if you’re really ready to be dedicated to getting results then you’re going to love reading further.
I thought I found the limit until I lifted my eyes.
~ Dr. Mikel Brown
I know people who have watched “The Secret”, read all the right self-improvement books, and have spent thousands on online self-help programs and courses which are full of promises and designed to help a person reach any dream endeavor. However, the only thing these people have reached is the end of their rope because none of those courses of action offer what is truly missing, and what they need more than anything—immediate results without fillers.
People are dog-tired of air pumped bags of promises which have more air than substance. They want results and they want them now! With the economy as uncertain as it is, many are wondering if it is worth it to still dream or if the American Dream, as we once knew it, is dead and gone. Is 2012 the beginning of the end, or are we at the conclusion of our beginning? I expect that the preliminaries are at a close and your real-life is in progress. The limit is not the end for the limitless; limits only apply to those who think that they are at their extremity. Nevertheless, there are those who strongly believe that their extremities are God’s opportunities to show His ability through them. Life is just starting and I am not done living it.
One day, I took a long hard look at my circumstances and decided to take action. I realized that no one can create these circumstances in my life but me. And, if I can create them, I can eliminate them. I made a conscious decision to cut the ropes of repetitive failures and strapped myself in tight, to the seat of open-mindedness that I can do all things. Since doing this, I have been on a marvelous journey and have not looked back once. With a single-mindedness and unwavering determination, I resolved that there is nothing behind me that I want in front of me. I made a deliberate move beyond my self- imposed limits and discovered that I can go as far as I prefer.
Benjamin Franklin was one such man who made the powerful discovery that his past had nothing to do with his future. If there was any one theme throughout Ben Franklin’s life, it was self-improvement. He was born into a family of seventeen children as the son of a poor candle and soap maker. He had less than two years of formal education and began his young adulthood entirely on his own in Philadelphia. Yet, he became a wealthy man by eighteenth century standards and one of the most respected intellects of the Western world.
Franklin was the prototype for the rags-to-riches story of the self-made man. Franklin’s entire life reflected his belief in self-improvement, and from adolescence until his death at eighty-four, he worked constantly to improve his mind, his body, and his conduct. Centuries before it became fashionable to be a guru of self improvement, Ben Franklin somehow understood the importance of a holistic approach toward oneself. His self-styled methods of personal improvement made an important connection between mind, body, and spirit.
If the heart of a person is empty, what is in one’s head does not matter. According to the Bible, all the issues of life flow from within a person’s heart (spirit). Mental power is not as powerful as spiritual power. Discover God, and you will discover yourself. Travel beyond your limits and you’ll be surprised at what awaits you.
