Want more money? Better relationships? Things to finally go your way? Here is the key.

The story of Demosthenes is one of my favorites. He was born into a wealthy family but he was born with a terrible speech impediment. Then at the age of 7 his parents died. To make matters worse, his guardians stole his inheritance and left him with nothing. It would be understandable at this point for him to accept the fact that he has little to live for and will not amount to much. Although something inside of him was determined to be able to speak well and eventually take his guardians to court and get his inheritance back. His speech impediment was so bad that most people couldn't even understand him. He worked tirelessly to learn all matters of law and to be come a great orator and eventually was able to take the guardians that stole his inheritance to court and get back what remained of his inheritance and become of the greatest orators in history.

I tell this story because I have noticed over the years some people, like Demosthenes, that seem to always have bad luck. They don't get the promotions they are so desperately hoping for, they have problems in their relationships, they get fired from their job or they complain because they are not getting paid enough,  they are waiting for something good to finally come their way when seemingly only bad crap comes up in their life. I have some bad news.... People that sit and wait for something to change in their lives and blame everything bad happening in their lives on other people or bad luck will continue to have bad luck, bad relationships, no promotions, low pay, and just plain sucky lives.

My message to all of them is to stop waiting!So many of the people I know that are unsatisfied with their life could experience happiness again by simply taking control and decide that I am in control of my life and no longer wait for something to change, and be the change they are so desperately needing in their lives.

I believe I know this well because I myself was in a state where I was waiting for good things to come my way and was frustrated when they didn't. When I didn't get the things out of life that I truly wanted and felt I deserved.

I found that when I stopped to look at people around me I would find people that were given advantages in life that I was not. It frustrated me because I felt they had it "easy". I would sit and think to myself how nice it would have been to have been given everything they had. I would look at some of the nice things that other people have or the lives other people have and often look at them in envy because they have something I will never have.

All that changed when I started to take a closer look at some of the most successful people on earth. A good portion of them came from circumstances far worse then mine and yet they rose to heights that most people only dream of. So how is it done? I have learned that without question its NOT our circumstances that define us, but our decisions. Its OUR choices, its what we decide to do with the hand we have been dealt.

If you are in a bad relationship what are YOU going to do about it? Are YOU doing anything to contribute to things being crappy? My guess, yes. Most people that have bad relationships are unwilling to take a deep look at themselves and first ask themselves " what could I do better?" Instead of WAITING for the other person to change. Make the change in yourself, focus on what you can do to improve and most of the time other people follow suite. My experience has always been that you will be far happier in any relationship when you point the finger at yourself far before you point the finger at someone else.

For those who are underpaid and under appreciated. What in the world are you waiting for?!?! Someone's permission for you to make more money? For someone to tell you that your valuable?  If you want to make more money, DO IT! Stop for a moment and think, what could I be doing differently? Where are there opportunities that I could make more money? What do I need to do to get those kinds of jobs? Start working towards it. STOP WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TO YOU, YOU MAKE THE CHANGE.

 If you want to prove your more valuable in the world, PROVE IT! You don't need anyone at all to LET you do something like that. Its a mindset change. Instead of waiting for someone else to make a change in your life, you be the change you are so desperately in need of. Prove to the world that you are more valuable and ask yourself what you need to do to prove that. Then, DO IT. If you want to be more valuable, then invest in yourself, become more valuable in the marketplace. If you dont have credentials that would prove your value, then find a way you can prove your value. Even if that means you have to make a company yourself. I dont need anyone in world to tell me what I can or I cant do. If I believe I am great at marketing, but I dont have the credentials to get hired by anyone to do marketing, then find a way that you can get your own credentials. Create a path instead of waiting for one. People that utilize the power of their minds to help them come up with solutions often do.

If you think that you are not smart, or maybe you think you are smart but not smart enough or that you have limited skills, you cant do this or that, you are right haha. If you think your dumb you are, if you think you can learn anything or do anything you want, sky is the limit.  Generally speaking the only limitations that exist in this world are not limitations that the world or our circumstances put on us, they are limitations we put on ourselves.

We are in control of our future despite what some people think. If you want things to change, dont wait hoping things will improve, wait for something good to happen, go out and make it happen. The moment you realize that you are in control of your happiness, your attitude, your income, your relationships, and your future, everything will change IF you take action and start to bring about the change in your life that you need.

Take a note from history and learn from Demosthenes you will be far happier in life when you are constantly working towards something and making progress towards your goals then you will be waiting for someone or something else to change in your life, I can guarantee it.

Josh Kartchner

A few months ago I made a life changing decision and I'm never going back.

As many of you know, about a year ago I decided to follow my dreams and to work towards accomplishing them. Throughout my life, and especially over the last year, I have heard alot about failure and that the odds are against me in chasing my dreams. My thought process was that in order to beat the odds, I should learn what other people did to beat the odds. In my research I found an interesting discovery. The more I read about keys to success and listened on Youtube to people talk about how they became successful I found that many of them shared similar habits and one thing in particular. They all had an insatiable desire to learn. Some of them reading a book every single week. 

I was on Facebook one day back in December and came across a post that Mark Zuckerberg had made. He put up a picture showing books that he had been reading over the last year. I was blown away as I looked at some of the books he had been reading. First because of the amount of books he had read and second, as I looked at the titles of some of the books he was reading it was hard for me to imagine being able to make it through some of those books. 

As I was looking over the book selection I realized that I have  to do it. I have to start reading books and commit to learning. I thought about all of the articles and videos I had watched with people talking about reading and learning being a key to personal growth and large contributor to success and knew that I needed to commit to making this happen.

Whats significant about this was that I hated reading. In all of my life the only thing I had willingly read was scriptures, and even that was difficult for me. The thought of reading books, non-fiction or fictional books had very little appeal to me.

A few months back I decided that if I want to become the person that I envision myself being I need to just do it. Take action. No more excuses. Just do it #Nike. So I spent $224 and purchased 24 books on audible.com. A few months out from doing that, I am here to say that was one of the best investments I have ever made in my life. I had invested in myself and its changed me completely. I can honestly say that I am more happy now than I have been in a long time. Not that my life was bad before, but that my life now has more purpose and direction than before. I am learning and growing and it feels incredible. I have come to believe that within every human being exists the ability to create, be creative, and the desire to learn and grow. 

I am writing this because the impact from reading has made such an indelible impression on me that I had to share it. I also wanted to share some of the things that stood out to me in hopes that someone else can find inspiration that may need it, and also to encourage other people to invest in themselves and read books that can help you grow and change your perspective on what your able to achieve. 

The following are some of the books I have read and some of the things that stood out to me:

Think and Grow Rich-Nepoleon Hill

-At one point he asked us to imagine all the wealth in the world and all you take is 1 penny. He then went on to explain that this is probably exactly what we are doing with the use of our brain. 

It helped me to recognize that our brains our capable of so much more than we can imagine, It helped to put into perspective what our brains are capable of, and what most of us do with the incredible gift we have been given.

Money Master the Game- Tony Robbins

-Fewer than 10% of people that buy a non-fiction book ever get past the first chapter. 

I loved this because I felt empowered knowing that I had just been placed in the top 10% in at least 1 category!

- Losers react- Winners anticipate

In the book he talked about why alot of people fail is because they react to situations that come up and people that succeed often already thought of the problems that could occur so they dont react, they anticipate. They think ahead.

The Obstacle is the way- Ryan Holiday

- Lots of people have great ideas but often give up when it's no longer easy or things get difficult. To get to uncharted territory you have to push harder and endure longer than those that have been before you.

This help me gain a greater perspective that to achieve what I want I have to realize that other people have probably tried what I want to do but gave up because it got difficult. If I want to get to uncharted territory I have to do what other people could not do before me, and that wont be easy.  I have to push harder and endure longer!

- The obstacle is the way.

This book did an incredible way of helping me to change my perspective on life and to accept that things will happen that we cannot control. What we do control is how we handle the things that happen in our life. Looking at obstacles as a deterrent will always hamper our success and prevent us from accomplishing all that lies ahead. This book helped me to learn that the obstacle that lies ahead of us is part of the path and that by going through it is what will get us to where we are going, not avoiding it and not coming up with excuses about how we cant get through it. Take the obstacles and use them to your advantage and to help you grow. 

Big Magic- Elizabeth Gilbert

- Fear is boring.

Elizabeth talked about growing up and how she was afraid of everything. Didn't want to try new things, and didn't want to try some things at all. There was just too much fear of failure, lack of the unknown, and getting hurt that she didn't do anything. This fear controlled her life until one day she realized that fear is boring. There are so many things she had been missing out on in life simply because she was afraid of doing failure, doing something not as well as someone else could do it, and so on. She realized that this way of thinking and this way of life is just plain boring and it will never avail much. The moment she changed her perspective she was able to go out to the unknown, do things that she loved but that she wasn't the best at, and do things that scared her knowing that fear should never rule over us, it can help us, but should never be in the drivers seat.

These are some, but not all of the things that I have read that have made a great impact on my way of thinking and perspective on life. I cannot express how much starting to read has changed my life. To those who wish to add value to their lives and become a better person, more capable, smarter, wiser, and more understanding, then read non-fiction books that can help you grow and reach your divine potential.

Don't limit what your able to accomplish in this life. Read and broaden your perspective to learn more about who you are and what you can become. I know I have and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Strangely enough, I have found that the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know and how much of the knowledge that exists in the world that I don't have. It propels me to read more and learn as much as I can. Time is limited and I no longer want to waste it. 

- Josh