Right here. Right now. You are exactly where you need to be.

Life has a divine way of putting you where you need to be. There is a plan for you that you are working towards, whether you accept it or not.

I know this is out there, especially if you are not a religious or spiritual person. The fact that you are not in control, you are just a little puppet on a grandeur plan that we can ever comprehend, is a tough pill to swallow.

This was difficult for me to understand for a long time. But once you can gain this understanding, and just work through the life where you are at, and being able to take a step back and say “In this moment, I am exactly where I need to be”, your life will soar.

You Are Exactly Where You Need To Be

Don’t get me wrong. Life hits like a ton of bricks sometimes, and it is hard to understand this.

In 2003, I lost all of my possession when a wildfire took my house. I thought my life was over.

In 2005, I flunked out of San Diego State University. For a guy who identified himself as an “above average smart guy”, I thought my life was over.

in 2009, I literally had $.49 cents in my bank account and needed to buy groceries for the week, as well as try to plan a wedding with my then fiancé. I thought my life was over.

In 2013, my wife got pregnant and we lost the baby at 12 weeks. More than anything above, I thought my life was over.

But it wasn’t over.

Those feelings I had made it feel like it was over in that moment in time. Especially with the miscarriage, which put me in such a dark place, it affected my mindset in other areas of my life that were going good, that I made intentionally go bad because that is where I was at in life.

Hindsight is 20/20, and I know it is very difficult when you are in the moment to see it, but in each of those moments looking back, I was exactly where I needed to be. I am grateful for these events.

Many aren’t grateful. Other people have gone through the same – we all know people who have been through these or other events. Yet some dwell on the bad. Some people want the pity vote and continue to live on the sadness of the past and try to blame life for having these things happen to them.

These were the best things for me. They got me here, right now, right here. And at this moment, I am exactly where I need to be.

You Are Exactly Where You Need To Be

The fire? That made me fall in love with the woman who is now my wife, and the mother of my children. And at this moment I am exactly where I need to be.

Flunking out of school? That gave me a passion for education, both formal and informal, for reading, podcast, taking in information inside and outside of the classroom, that I still have today. And in this moment I am exactly where I need to be.

Can’t afford to eat? That made me learn how to get creative creating money, hustle to get by and realize that I can get by with little. And in this moment I am exactly where I need to be.

Having a miscarriage on your first pregnancy? This one blows my mind. If we would have carried our first pregnancy to term, our son Mason, who is the single most important fuel for the light in my life, would not be here.  I would have loved that first baby with my every being, and Mason wouldn’t even be a thought for me. But I could not imagine my life without Mason. He literally changed my life. And although I did not see it for 3 months after the miscarriage, now – in this moment, I am exactly where I need to be.

When you are in the low of the valley, the journey to the peak seems far. But life is valley and peaks. It takes the valley to see the peaks and once you are on the peak, it is a quick roll to the bottom of the valley. But know that in this moment – this exact moment right now reading these words – you are exactly where you need to be. Life has put you here, through a series of events that may have been pleasant, or may have been painful, but it put you here, in this moment. I want you to take a big deep breath, close your eyes, and say out loud, to the world…

“Thank you world. I am grateful for this moment. Everything has led me here, and in this moment, I am exactly where I need to be.”

But just don’t say it. Really feel it. Really feel that gratitude for your life, for this moment that you have. Because it truly is an amazing moment.

Everything in your life has led to this moment – has led you right here right now. Be happy for that. Be grateful for that. Feel the gratitude with everything you have and be thankful for this exact moment in time.

I want you to think about your own life, the low valleys, and the highest peaks. What did you go through that brought you here, right now? What events made you who you are?

Maybe you lost someone, only to find yourself.

Maybe you had a divorce that destroyed your world, only to find someone that made your world stronger.

Maybe you had dark times, only to be the shining light in someone else’s life.

Maybe you lost your job, only to start your own business.

Everything you go through has led you right here, good or bad. You may be reading this after a dark time, a valley, something bad in your life. But life put you here. And life will take you up the peak. Just be grateful in this moment.

In this moment, you are exactly where you need to be.

Life is constantly in a state of movement. You are either progressing or regressing. Nothing stands still. Albeit the change could be small in either direction, there is never a moment that you do not move forward or backward in your life – ever.

Black and White.

Up or down.

Left or Right.

Good or bad.

Positive or negative.

Forward or backward.

That is just how the world works. Here is the great news though: YOU have the power to decide if it is forward or backward.

Look – sh*tty things happen in life. Trust me – I get that. And it can send you down the spiral of despair very easily. But to get up from that – to realize that things that happen are just things that happen – and you can move forward on them – is a powerful mind shift.

To be able to look at traumatic events, events that scar us deeper than we ever understand, incidents that you never expect that send you into the darkness, and to take a deep breathe knowing that they are just life presenting itself to us in a matter that eventually will move us forward, is how you get over the grips of despair.

Or don’t. You can let it define you. You can look at the event as life happens TO you, not FOR you. You can choose to look for the darkness that surrounds you, instead of the light to get out. You can forever think that you are a victim of your circumstance, instead of rising above. You can choose to let the events of your past move you backward.

There truly is no right way to approach overcoming the past issues in your life because again – life is neither good nor bad, but how you perceive the world – how you perceive the events of your life. Life happens – and it always will. We cannot control the external factors of life. We can control the internal factors of how we view the events in life.

Choose to move forward, or choose to move backward. The choice is literally only up to you – and to you alone.

But let me leave you will one last note as you choose: Moving forward gets you closer to the life that you want.

Not talking about the life that you want. Not dreaming of the life you want. GETTING the life that you want.

Because moving backward takes you further away. Hiding behind events of the past as a blocker of your success is moving backward. Using your past as an excuse to limit your action to get forward in life is moving backward. Refusing to put in the work needed to overcome the events of the past and refresh your mindset is moving backward.

But you can choose to stop moving backward, and start moving forward. You can choose to put in the time to overcome whatever blocker is hindering you in your life. You can choose to smash the excuses, call a spade a spade, and be honest with yourself. You can make the new decision that you are no longer a victim in life, but the victor in life.

But you have to choose. You have to decide. You have to want to move forward.

Or let it take you back.

The choice is up to you.

Choose wisely.

 

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I recently took a long weekend with my family to go camping. It was a wonderful weekend of family, friends, and fun.

I woke up on Monday morning, packed up, and went for a nice little walk in the beautiful surroundings while my kids went and played at the park one last time.

And I had a moment of clarity that was beautiful. There I was, walking in the beautiful mountain sunshine, a cup of coffee in the hand, breathing the fresh air – realizing that this has always been part of my vision. Monday morning, not a care in the world.

Now – there is more to my vision that I am working toward, but this was a big piece. Even years ago when I create this vision, and I had no actual idea on how to get there, I believed in my vision, trusted the process, and let it happen.

And you should too. Everyone should have a vision of their life on how exactly they want to live – and believe it is possible.

Here is why you need to:

When you believe without any doubt, it’s true to you. And if it is true to you, it has to happen. That is just the way the world works.

Creating the vision of your world is critical to getting you to success. Because if you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there. And if you don’t believe it can happen – it never will. If you can’t see your vision – it doesn’t exist.

So many people don’t have a vision and just wander through life, wondering why they aren’t getting the success they think they deserve.

I know – I was there.

In 2009, I was in a tough spot. Barely making ends meet, planning for a wedding (which I needed to pay for myself), and was in the beginning discussion of starting a family with my soon-to-be wife. I was working a dead-end job, just finishing a masters degree program, up to my neck in upcoming student loan debt, and no vision of the future.

I had no idea what I was going to do. No idea. To stay I was stuck was an understatement. I was not only stuck in my current situation, which was stressful, just forget about thinking about the future.

I came across the book The Secret which changed my life. Stay with me here – this isn’t going to be some crazy Law Of Attraction floofy story. What this did is bring me down a world of belief systems, and visions, and why they work.

So there I sat, 25 years old, entire life and future in front of me. I started down the journey. My first big goal: Make 100k before 30 years. 5 years. And I believed in it. I had to. My future depends on it. My family depends on it. I had that burning desire to achieve this. How? I had no idea. I was on pace to pull a whopping 24k a year in 2009. But part of the vision is not knowing the how right of the bat, just know the what.

The month before I turned 30 (July 2014), I closed a deal and the commission payment put me over 100k for the year. I did not realize it until my payment statement hit in Oct.

What transpired over those 5 years is nothing short of the universe connecting to make me match my goal.

I came across a job in the health and wellness world that required a masters degree – which I had. This took me to 45k a year. The company was then acquired by a larger company, giving me an instant promotion and pay raise: 65k a year. Then I moved into a sales consultant role, which gave me a small bump in salary (68,100), but a chance for a bonus. 2013 was my best year yet making 81k that year. The next year I took on a sales role, which took my base salary down (back to 65k), but a chance for commissions. And I blew my numbers out of the water. In 2014, the year I turned 30, I ended the year over 100k for the first time in my life. Actually was over 150k for that year.

From a vision to success. All because of a vision and a belief.

From there, I started creating a vision of my life outside just financial – because while this money was great – I realized creating a life of freedom is more important than a life worthy of money.

Part of my vision is to not wake up to an alarm clock. Take my family on trips to experience the world. Enjoy the sunshine. Not get that sick to my stomach feeling on Monday mornings knowing I was secure in my position in life. Being to take the morning, reflect outside on where my life is and where my life is going. And on this Monday while camping – I was doing that.

The vision is coming together. I still have a ways to go – but it is making it happen. Like waiting 5 years for that elusive 100k paycheck – this is falling into place more and more every day to live my dream and vision.

What You Are Looking For Is Looking For You

One reason a vision is such a big deal is what you are looking for is looking for you. Your world – it’s out there. You actually are living in the world you believe is your world right now – whether you like it or not. The trick is – if you want something more – a dream of something more.

And as you develop and recite your vision – you – like me – will start seeing those picture-perfect moments of you living your dream.

It is destined to happen.

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