as he stared at his reflection. Who is that pompous jerk with the slicked-back hair, the man who is living far above his means? Carl stepped closer to the mirror to try to find a hint of his true colors somewhere in the persona he had spent months creating.
What do you do to disguise yourself? Are you good at becoming a chameleon and fitting into almost any situation? Do you tend to adopt the behaviors and attitudes of those around you in order to fit in? Be careful. That’s an easy way to lose yourself. Practice worrying less about how others perceive you and more about honoring your own identity. The right friends, the right job, and even the right significant other will come to you if you don’t disguise yourself. If you reveal who you truly are, you will attract the people who will most complement your life.
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Your voice is important.
You are a significant influence on this world.
You are not a victim.
You get to define yourself.
Write each of the four sentences above on a separate piece of paper in your journal, and then fill the rest of the page with your thoughts. Are you defining yourself, or are you letting others do it for you?
If you want to achieve your dreams, you must remember these four messages. They are essential to finding the strength you need to succeed. Take control of your life and your future. Define yourself. It is so exciting to realize that you don’t have to hold back or cover up your true self. Unleash your potential. Don’t let anyone stop you from following your path to success. Find people with common goals and work with them. Help others along the way, but never let someone else tell you who you are or what you are capable of accomplishing. You are the only one who can do that.
Accept nothing less than what you know to be true about yourself and your potential. Don’t worry if others laugh at your dreams. They don’t get to vote on your future. You’re in charge of that. Define yourself today . . . and think big!
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Do you feel like an actor pretending to be you in real life? Are you play-acting at one thing, when you know you are something else? It’s stressful to try to imitate all of the right moves and make people believe you are someone you’re not.
Maybe you are pretending to be really knowledgeable about a certain technology at work, but the truth is you have no idea what you’re doing. Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of time before the curtain comes down and that scene is over. What is going to happen when they find out the truth?
Think through your life today. Are there areas where you are posing? Are you pretending to be something you think you should be? As Fanny Brice mentions in the quote above, sooner or later you’re going to forget the pose. Do you really want to go through the embarrassment of admitting you were pretending to be something you’re not? Not only is that dishonest, but it also carries the connotation that you’re ashamed of who you really are. Are you?
You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. The world wants to see you just as you are. No one is interested in the poser. We want the real deal. So throw away all of your costumes and take off that horrid makeup. Reveal your true self and seize control of your future. Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be.
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