“There’s something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.”

I believe that we are all able to solve our own problems, remove negativity from our lives and rebuild our realities to our liking. As a child, I always heard people say “be patient, God has a plan for you.” I hated it. Maybe because I’m impatient. Maybe because it made me feel powerless. Either way, I had no plans on waiting for God or anything else to get what I wanted out of life. When I got a little older, a mentor told me:

“You are the personification of God and the power of God lives in you. If you’re in need of anything in life, look inward, not outward.”

That thing inside you that is greater than any obstacle is God. The key to conquering obstacles and changing the things around you is conquering and changing yourself. I know how cliche that sounds so I’ll give my own practical example. I want to be a successful entrepreneur and I want to be surrounded by successful and/or ambitious people. So, a few months ago, I went to work on myself. I started with a morning routine because the morning is the most important part of the day. It sets the pace for the rest of the day. I know that if I can “win the morning”, the rest of the day would come a lot easier. Everyday I wake up at 6am, down a bottle of water, turn on an audiobook, start boiling 2 eggs and eat some spinach. While I’m eating I might scroll social media, but only if my brain is functioning well enough to listen to the audiobook and scroll at the same time. If not, I close the social media apps and just listen and eat my spinach. At 6:45 I begin my morning workout while still listening to my book. I finish my workout at 7:30, eat the 2 boiled eggs and jump in the shower, still listening to my audiobook. By 8:20 I’m starting my work for the day. At this point I turn my audiobook off and start listening to music. I only listen to audiobooks about financial literacy, entrepreneurship or intrinsic motivation. Again, I want to be a successful entrepreneur so my input has to match my desired output. By filling my brain with this type of information as soon as I wake up, my mindset is focused for the day. When I start listening to music on my morning drive or at my desk, all I want to hear is Nipsey Hussle, Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nas and any other artist that’s talking about wealth and success. When I get on the phone I want to talk about my new ideas or how to maximize my current moves. My mind is consumed with success and there’s becoming less and less room for doubt. I’m transforming. Now, the people around have to adapt to what I’m becoming. Some distant friends with similar mindsets are starting to become close friends because our conversations are meaningful. Some close friends are becoming distant because our conversations are lacking substance. I don’t care to talk about celebrity gossip or even gossip in our own lives. And they don’t have the desire to carry the type of conversations I want to have. Some friends fell off completely. My friends changed. There was a natural separation building between me and the girl I was dating. She would wake up at 11am trying to cook me breakfast and have a morning convo while eating. At this point, I’m halfway through my work day and not trying to slow down. She couldn’t adapt to the new me. Now, I won’t date anyone who isn't a morning person or who doesn’t have the same drive and vision I do. It’s an easy transition because my mind won’t allow me to give any real consideration to a woman who isn’t on the same page as me. I’m only dating women who want what I want. 

Waking up early and being more intentional with my time made me more productive and the results were abundant. Plus, I changed everything around me by making everything adapt to me. I’ve successfully used my inner power to change myself and the people around me, and I didn’t have to wait on God. God was waiting on me.