Own Your Life

So often people choose to settle for what’s safe and comfortable. They let life happen to them rather than actually creating the life that they want for themselves. Paralyzed by their comfort zones, their lives are shaped by others' opinions and expectations. 

Let’s examine the idea that taking a traditional job in a billionaire’s company is safer than starting your own business… You may have “security”, but that job will take 40 years of your life and keep you stuck on a fixed income. You neither have enough money to take a vacation nor have free time to enjoy those few earnings you’ve made from the job. At any point, the company could be sold or employees laid off to increase profit. And ultimately, it’s just not fulfilling. You end up living your entire life feeling like a hamster on a wheel, letting your circumstances define you and life just happening to you. This is called survival.

Living is something totally different. When you’re living intentionally, you have a set purpose to life. You own your life. You focus on doing things, on growing and achieving. While surviving centers around getting to the next day, living centers around experiencing life to the fullest. You’re aware of your health so you monitor what you eat, you exercise, and you go for regular checkups. Every financial choice you make is intentionally aligning towards gaining financial freedom or independence. You acknowledge what you’re passionate about and you take consistent, deliberate actions to fulfill your passion. You don’t let life happen to you as if you’re a victim of it. You’re making decisions that contribute to a goal. You’re in the driver's seat, actively participating in creating the life you want for yourself and the people in your life. That’s the power of intention.

The first step to owning your life is taking responsibility for the decisions you make and for your actions. We are the architects of our lives. Our lives are made up of a series of small and big choices that we make each day. When you don’t make the choice for yourself, it is made for you. At the core of this journey is discovering your true identity. When you have understood your truth and sense of self, you then set your intent for your life. What you aspire to achieve. Your goals, dreams, or ambition. The last step is taking big or small purposeful steps towards fulfilling that purpose.

Everyone loves a good rag to the riches success story, and we’re all familiar with Oprah Winfrey. Long before her $2.6 billion net worth, Oprah was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single mother. She was raised on a farm by her grandmother for the first 6 years of her life. Her grandmother was so poor that Oprah often wore dresses made of potato sacks and other children made fun of her. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14. Sadly, she lost her son and she was moved to Tennessee. But even at a very tender young age, she envisioned a much better life for herself. She got a job in radio at 16 while she was still in high school, then at 19 was hired on television as a co-anchor for the local evening news. She didn’t know how to write or act but deep inside she knew she wanted to become an actress. That was her truth.

When Oprah was 22 years old she was making $22 000 a year. A lot of people told her that that was the best it could get. But even though she was doing well, she knew she could do better. In one of her many inspirational quotes, Oprah said, “Everybody has a calling. And your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you were meant to be, and to begin to honor that in the best way possible for yourself’’. This is exactly what she went on to do - honoring her truth. When the opportunities were presented to her, she was ready and prepared to pursue her inner calling. Today, Oprah Winfrey is dubbed the queen of all media. She not only became an actress but also a talk show host, TV producer, media executive, and philanthropist.

Your success is a result of owning your life. Don’t allow your background or any perceived limitations stop you from following your truth, purpose, and intention. Refuse to be defined by the box that people put around you and fight any fear that may come your way. And finally, be prepared when the opportunity door is opened.

blog image @patrickhardy via Twenty20