Have you ever felt a sense of hopelessness about a situation in your life or felt completely powerless to change your circumstances? Well, welcome to the club! Anybody who has ever thought of attempting anything worthwhile, has at some time in their life, looked up at a huge mountain of things to do, which seemed beyond their reach to complete. This viewpoint leads many people to never set goals, for fear they will not score.

People often approach me with the thought of starting a business, but they are quickly discouraged when they discover the amount of paperwork which must be completed, or the funds which are necessary to begin. Having a desire to start a business or to author a book is not motivation enough to propel a person to not only start, but also complete the endeavor.

Government agencies encourage people to pursue government funds which are offered to serious people. Bureaucratic red tape is a deterrent only to those who are not serious enough to pursue much-needed assistance, which may be offered to the general public through start-up business grants or low interest loans. As a result, their dreams will usually come to a squelching halt because they did not take into account how laborious and painstaking it is to start a business.

Listen to me! You do not have to be dissuaded or shoved around like some rag-doll by fear. You can discover the power to stand up to the bully of success, which is fear, and never feel powerless again. Feeling powerless and being powerless are two different positions, and feeling powerless does not make it so. The impediment standing between you and starting your dream endeavor, is not the lack of knowledge or money; it is simply the apprehension that it may be too hard or too much of a price to pay. Therefore, failure is the mental image which must be changed before you will ever believe you can set your dream in motion.

People have gone to great lengths to protect their emotion of fear so that in the eyes of relatives, friends, and associates, their personal image is not tainted. They want people to see them as powerful and daring. Therefore, they lie and shield their fears with anecdotes and excuses to direct the focus away from them. In truth, they are frightened of challenges and they have chosen to sit back in the comfort of mediocrity. Don’t look to manage your fears, learn how to cripple them before they cripple you.

People do not drown because they cannot swim; they drown because they believe they cannot swim. If a person drowns, it is because they panic and fight the water until they are completely exhausted. Afterwards, their bodies float to the top. You do not have to drown in order to float on top of water, you can simply decide to relax (be at ease) and you will find yourself floating. When people lose the fear of something, they can learn to master it; but as long as fear dominates a person, the thing they are fearful of will dominate them.

I would like to think that I am interested in wanting the best for people I love and mentor, especially those I am intimately engaged with on a daily and weekly basis. However, my nurturing image of what many of them can become, and the things I believe they are capable of accomplishing is oftentimes in conflict with where they have chosen to settle instead of pursuing their highest aspirations.

Stop living in fear and start fearlessly living. Life is short and filled with frustrations, disappointments, and failures. On the other hand, life is inundated with contentment, pleasures, and fulfillment. Failure and disappointment do not define you; they are designed to refine you.

My friend, it is how you see it. Frustrations can become advantageous, disappointments can become fulfilled appointments, and failure can be replaced with success. The choice is yours! Choose today, how you are going to live the rest of your life. Remember, how you live tomorrow is determined by the things you do today. Decision Determines Destiny!