1. Am I willing to give first and expect nothing in return?
2. Am I willing to ask for what I want?
3. Am I willing to set goals and plan ways to get what I want?
4. Am I willing to give up complaining, making excuses, and blaming others for not getting what I want and take 100% responsibility for my actions?
5. Am I willing to say “no” to an opportunity based on my priorities knowing that bigger and better opportunities may come my way?
6. Am I willing to step out of my comfort zone to experience all life has to offer me?
7. Am I willing to fail in order to learn and move forward?
8. Am I willing to persevere when the going gets tough?
9. Am I willing to embrace change?
10. Am I willing to take action?

When you are willing to go after what you want with conviction, you will inevitably get where you want to go and achieve what you want to achieve. You must be willing to do what it takes. How badly do you want what you say you want? What are some other questions you ask yourself about your “willingness” to participate in this exciting world called life?

People who play the victim game often point fingers at others as the responsible party for their current situation. I do not know how many times I have heard people say these phrases: “I never get a chance to…”, “I am unhappy because they…”, “I cannot have what I want”, or even “I do not have a life.” PLEASE – You do have a life and chances to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others. Remember this echoing phrase, “Life is what you make it.” We all have the same amount of time in a day. All too often the people who say these comments blame others for not getting what they want. Sad thing is…nobody ever knew what they wanted. You are responsible for your chances, happiness, and the excitement in your life. YOU – you cannot blame others for what is in your control. The choice lies within you.

Your happiness depends on you. That’s right. If you are searching outside of yourself for your happiness and saying to yourself, “I will be happy when…. I have the big house or an expensive car.”, you are cheating yourself out of all you have and all you have accomplished to date. If you do not appreciate the present, when you have the things you yearned for, you will not appreciate them either as you will be yearning for something else.

Get Clear on What You Want. You can have what you want, however, many people do not get what they want because they are not always clear on what exactly it is they want or expect from themselves or others. I have seen spouses get upset about the other person fulfilling their needs or holding them back from going after what they want. The only problem is no one clearly expressed what it was they wanted; they made assumptions.

Set Your Priorities. You are the one who knows what is important to you. You need to choose and balance what you want to achieve. Let’s say you are frustrated because you cannot go to the gym for one and a half hours so you do not bother going. Who is suffering? Who is responsible for your health? You are! Going to the gym or for a walk for 30 minutes is still better that you coming home to sit on the couch. Do something toward reaching your goal instead of nothing.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. You need to let people know what it is you want to achieve. This works both personally and professionally. People want to help others achieve. It makes them feel good to know that they were a contributing factor to your success. If people do not know what you want, how can they help you?

Remember You Have Choices. If you need a babysitter so you can get to the gym, connect with a responsible teenager in your area. Check and see if your gym has babysitting available. Maybe you can even swap babysitting with another mother in your area so you both can benefit. There are options to help you achieve what you want. Many businesses are formed because of the need for options and lifestyle.

Ask for Help. If your options are not working out, do not give up. Ask others for help or referrals to people they know, like, and trust. Tap into the new opportunities and options available.

Compromise and Create Win-Win. There are times when you may have to compromise to get what you want by helping others get what they want. That’s a great deal. Remember you can delegate to others to help you achieve what you want. You do not have to do it all.

Go and Get It. You have to develop a take action mindset.The responsibility for achieving what you want lies in you. Think about how badly you want something. Are you willing to go the distance and do what it takes to get there? If so, go and get it!

Might be a bit of tough love but…stop blaming, complaining, or making excuses about why you have not achieved what you want. The person responsible for your life is the person looking back at you in the mirror every morning and every night. That person is – YOU!

How do you take responsibilty for achieving what you want?

When your leave a footprint, you leave a reminder, an imprint to others that you were there. People buy from and surround themselves with people they know, like, and trust. How can they get to know you if you do not leave your footprint in their mind or even their heart?

People want to get to know you, so BE REAL – BE YOURSELF. They want the full meal deal – not an imposter. They were attracted to your qualities and character. When you try to be someone you are not, you rob the world of the person you are. We often think that if I just had this car or if I have more money, they would think more of me. Sadly, this is often not the case. What matters most is how you feel about you – on the inside. You may have heard the saying “Confidence is Sexy!” Confidence attracts people to you; and, confidence is empowering. People want to be around people who are energetic and have enthusiasm for life. They want to expereince what you have to offer.

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~Judy Garland

SHARE A PIECE OF YOURSELF. Let people sample who you are. Build relationships with others. Give the people you meet value – a referral, tip, technique, or an idea that might be benefit them. You will receive more than you may expect in return. Take time to teach others, as you have had many teachers that helped you get where you are today. List the ways you can help others and start doing some of them toda

FOLLOW-UP WITH THE PEOPLE YOU MEET. You do not want the winds of time to bring a tide to the shore to wash away your footprint. Follow-up with  the people you meet so you are on top of their mind and your footprint etched in the sand.

During my family camping trip, I read “Embrace the Struggle -Living Life on Life’s Terms” by Zig Ziglar and Julie Ziglar Norman, a gift my girlfriend gave me. In this book, you will learn struggles several people have endured during life’s journey but also about the faith and dedication of Zig Ziglar and his family. You see, Mr. Ziglar fell down several stairs and suffered a brain injury. His love for his family, his Redhead, and his purpose did not waiver. When you embrace your struggle, there is always one thing you can count on – God.

Everyone has their own struggle, whether it is personal, emotional, spiritual, business-related, or financial, we all struggle at one time or another.

3 lessons I learned from this inspirational book are:

1. No matter what your struggle may be – you are never alone. Family, friends, and strangers unite in prayer and support of all kinds. People want to help people.
2. When you are living your purpose, what you truly love to do, there will always be a way for you to live that purpose, it may not be the way you envisioned it to be…it may be even better than you expected.
3. Learn to accept things you cannot change and be solution focused on the things that you can change.

Someone once said to me,”It is hard to stay positive all the time.” I will not argue that for some people and even myself that there are times that are more difficult to endure than others, but I know for a fact, it is much more difficult to be surrounded with negativity. Negativity is energy draining. Optimism makes me feel alive. I will share my rose coloured glasses any day.

Embrace your struggle with faith and optimism (a spoonful of sugar). Make lemonade from the lemons that come your way. Be grateful for the people who lift you up. Life can be sweet again!