Sometimes you may believe you do not deserve the payoff that comes with accomplishing your dream. I struggled and at times still struggle with this. You are willing to work and sacrifice but sabotage yourself in some way because you are believing the lie that it may be good for somebody else but not you.

One morning while driving back from the gym, I reflected on how I realized progress toward adopting a millionaire mindset. Then I started affirming to myself that I should not be surprised because I am supposed to have successes.

I am supposed to consistently have energy every day.

I am supposed to maintain momentum.

I am supposed to be a millionaire.

I am supposed to have a successful business.

I am supposed to have great friendships.

I am supposed to conquer my fears.

Here is what was interesting. When I followed “I am supposed to be a millionaire” with “I am supposed to have a successful business” without pausing to think about if I can do it or if I deserve it, my mind went, “Did you hear that? I guess this thought of being a millionaire is a normal and reasonable since he did not pause to doubt. So, we should go and execute.” It became just another milestone to reach.

I sandwiched that big goal between smaller ones quickly and did not give my mind a chance to doubt.

T Harv Eker author of The Millionaire Mind said that if you have a blueprint that says you are to be poor, that is what you will be no matter how hard you work and how much money you earned. To change that blueprint you need to adopt a new concept about who you are and believe you are deserving of it.

Said another way by Ed Mylet, you will do things that are consistent with your identity. One of the ways he advocates to change your identity is take drastic and massive action, outside your norm, toward your goal within a short period of time – shock your system. I want to add that you should follow that shock with an easier milestone.

In the gym, there is a practice called pyramid training where you would do say five sets. For the first three sets you would increase the weight, then in set four you would reduce the weight to what you used for set two, and for set five you would use the same weight as in set one. In this way the milestones you thought were hard (as in sets two, four and five) would seem easier because you challenged yourself in a big way – and hence planted the seed in your mind – to a huge goal. Try it.

You not only want to dream, but you want to move toward the prize and keep the momentum. You can do this! You may be tempted to do something contrary. You will have a way to be able to endure the challenge. As you endure, you will develop the capacity to maintain the right trajectory.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

You choose your diet based on your life’s purpose. If you’re living to be an athlete, your diet will be significantly different to if you’re a gamer. If you like traveling, your diet will be different to if you prefer local events.

What is clear is no matter what life you choose, to improve its quality or optimize your performance or function, your diet is critical. If you are not thinking clearly, you would not be able to do your job as best as you could. If you lack energy, you would not be able to fully enjoy the events or experiences you encounter or choose.

Dr. Daniel Amen, author of Change Your Brain Change Your Life, advocates that our lack of optimum performance is caused by a brain which isn’t functioning at its best. Diet plays a significant role in our brain function.

We all want to be effective and efficient in whatever lifestyle we choose to enjoy. Let us take care of our temples.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NASB)

“…how is your business going, how far is it from sustainability?”

It was also an anchor for me to maintain my certainty when waves of challenges seem to beat against me. This reminded me how deep the words of that right person can have on your trajectory. I noticed there is a couple of days lag time for my behaviors to catch up with my insights, resolutions, or new intent. Then I become most effective and efficient when they are aligned.

First, when I saw “sustainability” I thought it was my dad who asked this question. I even remembered it as him who asked it until I went searching through my messages and realized it was my mom. Next, just asking that question lit a flame under my dream of becoming an entrepreneur that wasn’t there before. It provided the validation to my business endeavor I felt mom never explicitly expressed. You see I was aspiring to be a doctor but changed to business. She supported my efforts to go into medicine but hadn’t communicated interest like this before.

Perhaps you are uncertain of your purpose, but you suspect what it is. Or maybe you already found it, you are uncertain about the next step, but you suspect the direction you should go. Remove distractions for a few minutes and listen to the quiet voice within you. You may notice more interest in one direction over another. Explore it. You may have gotten confirmation from somewhere, a speaker or a writer. Explore it. Fan the flame.

The world needs your passion, which may now just be a flicker, to develop into a flame that would provide a guiding light to some and an inspirational fire to others.

Like Jeremiah you have a potential fire for your purpose that cannot be contained.

But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that. Jeremiah 20:9 (NLT)

First, let us start with noting that a present is a gift. So, we can refer to the present as a gift. You could have not been born or you could have been dead. Surely you can remember, like me, a near death experience. You survived because there’s a purpose for your life.

You may say that you cannot just be about the present because you must plan for the future. True and we will expand on that concept. When you get to that future, say tomorrow, would not that be the present? I wish to submit that if you are not living in the present, you are planning for it. Ok Jon, what is so groundbreaking about that? It is, how we plan.

We are encouraged to live in the moment or enjoy the present. Can we enjoy it as much as we could if it is not properly prepared for? How can you enjoy a meal you have not added the right ingredients, in the right proportion, at the right time and allowed to cook for the right duration? To have the tomorrow you want, you have no choice but to start today. You may start imperfectly, and the preparation of your ingredients may be out of whack. But you will get more refined as you continue to value your present. There will be pain today or pain in the future since there is a price to realize your dream. You choose the currency. Will you pay the pain of starting and growing or instead the pain of regret from what you woulda, coulda, shoulda done? The pain of regret is more painful.

Today, for this gift of the present, be grateful then enjoy it, for sure. Do not worry about what is past because you cannot change it. You may feel pain when you look at the past maybe because you did not do a good job in preparing for it or there were things you could not control. Now, look at future, and make it better. The quality of that new present, that new gift, depends on the quality you make of this gift, this present.

Don’t put it off; do it now!

Don’t rest until you do.

Proverbs 6:4 (NLT)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Ephesians 6:10

We will always be presented with the opportunity to be weak. Think of a habit you’re trying to break or an area of your life you’re trying to improve upon. Isn’t it interesting that every time you make a commitment or decide on a path that you get tempted to go back on your word? This happens to me, all the time. Interestingly, the temptation seems to dress in a different disguise and sometimes I find myself going down the same road, thinking I’m in control or finding an excuse for why it’s ok to there. Then I collect myself.

Just when I wanted to focus on a course I was interested in and continue the momentum I started with on the beginning of the week, a gift box with cookies and ice cream was delivered to my home. I couldn’t believe it! I thought to myself, why couldn’t that have come before I started this or sometime later. Then it occurred to me that it couldn’t come before because I would not have been able to handle it and it would not have been a test of my resolve. But it came now because I could handle it and it will significantly boost my confidence and momentum to be able to take on the bigger test that is coming. So, when I see the test, I should not moan but celebrate!

You may find yourself being tested in one area multiple times and you may be wondering, why? It is because you need to pass before you can progress. You can do this. You must do this.

The test is there to educate but you must graduate for your opportunities to escalate. Be strong.