"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Christopher Reeve

            So often we attend events, listen to a motivating audio or read an inspirational book with the absolute intention of taking action in our lives and forging ahead with our dreams.  The sad part is that once we encounter the first challenge human nature is to give up and return to a life of complacency.  Giving up further yields to a sense of remorse and from there stems self deprecation.

            Let’s take, for example, the story of Bill*.  Bill is in a network marketing company that has produced many millionaires and has products that are highly regarded.  When his company announced a contest that would reward recruiting and assisting people in getting paid, Bill got very excited.  He made a declaration that he would participate and even win. 

            Soon after the contest began, Bill was faced with his first challenge.  After reviewing his list of prospects he realized that he would need to go and find some more people.  As Bill was adding to his list a family tragedy set him back and after a few weeks away from his business he returned with renewed vigour, more determined than ever.  Unfortunately it was Bill’s third challenge that took him out of the running; he could get out there and prospect and soar beyond the passing of a close family member however he could not surpass the mental hurdles that eventually conquered his resolve.

            Bill recently shared that at the company’s celebratory event; he felt a twinge of remorse.  As the winners marched across the stage with their giant checks, Bill realized that he had allowed his mental negative chatter to be victorious over his actions.  Bill is not alone, for many people the chatter of the mind paralyzes them from getting started on their dreams or, in Bill’s case, realizing a dream they are indeed capable of.  The mind is a powerful tool.  It can lift us up or it can defeat us.  In both cases it is merely the act of allowing the mind to control our actions that either sets us up for victory or for failure. 

            In the very same contest, Sarah*, faced similar challenges.  Not fully understanding the contest she decided to leap in with both feet and learn as she went.  During the same period, her mother passed, and she too had to work through grief and the litany of paperwork afterward.  Sarah’s mind stayed in victory and even though she was focused elsewhere for over six weeks, she came back and ended up adding extra money to her bank account in the contest.

            The fact of life is that we will always face challenges.  We will always have life events which we can allow to steal our dreams.  The truth is that we do not have to surrender our victories at every opportunity, instead we can train our mind to focus on the ‘win’ even when all else seems lost.  When we approach our lives with a victory mindset, we become people who not only take action toward our dreams, we become people who are victorious in our dreams.  There will always be life events, it is our choice to continue on no matter what.

            Years ago, I had a dream to write a book that would be endorsed by both Jack Canfield and Dr. John Gray.  At the time I didn’t know either bestselling author and I hadn’t put one word on paper.  When I decided to write the Have It All Woman and applied myself in getting 3000 words per day on the computer, no matter what, things began to happen.  Before the first printing we had Dr. Gray’s endorsement and soon after received rave reviews from Jack Canfield.  After I decided to pursue my dream and focused on action, everything else came into place.

            Did I have distractions while I wrote the book?  Absolutely.  Would it have been easier some days to not write?  You better believe it.  Could I have given up on the dream?  Yes.  Did I?  No.  Instead of being a person who allowed my mental chatter to get the best of me, I focused on the dream and took action.

            In reality, we are all much closer to our dreams than we think.  The hardest part is getting started, the second hardest part is staying the course and keeping a victorious mind no matter what.  This week I challenge you to be extraordinary and make a decision to go for it.  Know that there will be distractions and set backs however staying the course will eventually lead to your wins.  Just think – it took Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen hundreds of rejections before someone published Chicken Soup for the Soul books.  It took Colonel Sanders thousands of ‘no’s before his secret fried chicken recipe became a success.  Lance Armstrong beat cancer to win the Tour De France. 

            There are so many examples of people defying the odds to become victorious.  It wasn’t easy for them and it may not be easy for you however the only way you will ever know is to get started now and go for it.  Do not quit, no matter what and you too will be a victor in your own life.  Know that the mental chatter will always be there – it is in your power to turn down the volume.

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Spend time with master trainer, author and speaker Susan Sly in beautiful Los Angeles, California.   The Power Body Weekend is 3 days of inspiration, transformation and motivation.  Learn how your body works, how to eat for pleasure and not out of pain, discover the best exercise techniques for your body type and much more.  You do not want to miss it.