Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Life is inherently risky. However, there is one big risk we should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing. When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready, the challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. We should not waste time to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.

The sky has never been the limit. We are our own limits. It is then about breaking our personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives. We only improve when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. There are people, not certainly more intelligent than the rest of us, who have mastered problems as difficult as those that baffle us. Every problem has a gift for us in its hands and life’s blows cannot break a person whose spirit is warmed by the fire of enthusiasm.

I have learned that breakdowns can create breakthroughs; things fall apart so things can fall together; in chaos there is fertility. The problem is not that there are problems; the problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. Sometimes, we stand in our own shadow and wonder why it’s dark. We are only as strong as we allow ourselves to be; never get discouraged, never give up because consistency and dedication are the keys to success. Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: that the future can be better than the present, and we have the power to make it so.

I have also learned that every successful person has a challenging story and every challenging story has a successful ending; that success seems to be connected with action; successful people keep moving; that they make mistakes but don't quit. Everybody has weaknesses and a large part of success is knowing how to avoid falling prey to them. So accept the challenge and get ready for success.

Self-esteem is the strongest factor to success; believing we can do it, believing we deserve it and believing we will get it. Successful people build each other up; they motivate, inspire, and push each other; while unsuccessful people just hate, blame, and complain. I believe that the greatest success we can ever achieve is when we help others become successful.

I also believe that defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but a challenge which urges me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in what I am doing in a path leading to success and truth. If that is the case, I would change course or create another path and leave a trail.

By Tim Pedrosa

Tim