Dare to Live your Dream – published 8/5/12 (Highveld Tribune)

One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is to get rid of excuses.

Rudyard Kipling once wrote:  “We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse”.

The dangerous thing about excuses is that if we recite them enough times, we actually come to believe that they are true.   

Life itself is a journey – the most important reward is not what you are getting, but who you are becoming.

Most of us tend to undervalue ourselves. 

Somewhere along the way of growing up, we adopt the belief of “not good enough”.  We may dream about doing something or being someone, but find many reasons not to follow this dream.

The fear of ridicule and negative comments has kept me from following some of my dreams.

It is a daily challenge. To be true to myself is like peeling away the layers of an onion.  There is always another layer.

We compare ourselves to others, and always seem to come up short.  We are not rich enough, tall, thin, beautiful or successful enough - as long as we compare, there will always be someone we perceive to be more. 

When we reach certain milestones in life – it is worthwhile taking a little time, taking a fresh look at who we have become.

To be completely honest with ourselves - look into the mirror - see into our own eyes.

We are part light and part shadow – the God light shining from within, holds all the birth gifts and talents. This makes us unique, only we can allow the true authentic self to blossom. 

The shadow holds the life lessons – the challenge to learn from our life experiences/circumstaces and choices that we have made. There is no other person that can fill your role on your stage of your life. Instead of denying the shadow part of ourselves we are freed in the moment of recognition.  It is then that we can begin to work on and change (each in his own conviction)the perceived negative of what  we have become and uncover the full potential of who we are created to be.

Dare to be all of who you can be  - the true authentic you – there is only ONE of YOU!

As the saying goes: “Do not let yesterday use too much of tomorrow”