"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."
-Arnold H. Glasow
My name is Tina, and I have a personal mission. More than anything, I want to help inspire everyone to work on personal development, confidence, and leadership. This is what I've worked
on for the past twenty years. I’m on a journey to success, and I have come a long way.
It is my desire that you pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit down, and read my latest post. They will be posted each Monday morning before the craziness of everyday life begins. Mondays are usually extremely hard for people. A lot of people mumble and complain when they get up on Monday morning. This is why I have decided to write these blogs. Each blog is based on something I have worked on. There will be stories based on my own and others’ experiences. In these
blogs, I want to give a little bit of wisdom and a whole lot of inspiration.
There was a time that I had no confidence, no defined goals, and I had horrible fear of
people. Now, I have greatly increased my confidence, set and reached several goals, and I am able to talk to anyone without fear and trembling. This took a lot of hard work, but was worth it all.
When I was twenty, I could hardly step into a college class without an overwhelming sense of
failure. Each time I take a class now, I feel more confident. This is how I learned the importance of setting and working toward goals, which greatly increased my confidence. In the midst of working through setting and working on goals, I learned to persevere through any obstacle. There were classes that I thought I couldn't make it through, but, after persevering to the end, I actually made good grades. During this time, I learned that it wasn't about how smart or gifted I am, but how hard I worked and pushed through obstacles. This is true for anyone.
My dream is to help people as much as possible. No, I am not a counselor. This is information that I have studied, and it is something I have or am trying to apply to my own life. I'm a work in progress, and I will try to describe my own experiences that will hopefully become a map for your
own journey to success.
The first thing I want to talk about is never giving up. There have been times that it seemed easier to just throw in the towel. Of course, it might seem easier at the time, but the consequences would have hurt me later. This is something I try to keep in mind during hard times.
For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and
fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised. Hebrews 10:36
There is a story that illustrates this point. It is a personal story I use to help others understand the concept of never giving up and persevering through the most difficult situations. This story is hard for me to tell, but I know it is important for my personal development message. I truly hope this will clarify the importance of working through problems, because the prize is fulfillment and increased confidence.
One of the hardest times in my life was when my mom's health started to fail. She had always encouraged and supported me. Suddenly, I took on the caregiver role to my mom. Watching her suffer was excruciating. She would get better then she would take a turn for the worse. Her
body couldn’t ward off infection, so a cold or the flu was dangerous for her. Several times she ended up in the hospital, because her immune system was weak.
During one of her better times, I decided to go back to college and finally finish my undergraduate
degree. It took me several years to complete my senior year, because I would stop taking classes for various reasons. This was my chance to finally complete my college degree.
In summer 2008, I started back to school. My school work was difficult, because I had to take care of my children. Although my mom said she would help me, she started helping less and less. My Aunt Ellen, her older sister, helped a lot that summer by taking the kids outside to
play or watching them while I studied. Although this helped me tremendously, my mom's doctor appointments and her need for assistance increased, so this brought a lot more distractions that
interfered with my class work.
By fall of that year, my mom was in the hospital, and I was running between the hospital, my
daughter's school, and home with my four year old son. At this time, I had already started two
classes. During my hospital visits, I would do my homework while my mom spent time with my son. As her condition worsened, my stress level would increase. Every day was a challenge, and several times I felt like giving up and withdrawing from my classes.
Every time I felt like giving up, I would look at myself in the mirror and wonder what would happen if I dropped out. If I dropped out once more, I probably wouldn't return and receive my degree. This was a way to better myself and help create a better future. It also was an example to my children. Not only did I show them the importance of receiving a degree, but I also showed them how crucial it is to persevere through good and bad times. Most importantly, I felt it was what God wanted me to do, so I pushed through and found strength in my faith and family.
My mom passed away on November 25, 2008, and I graduated with my bachelors of science in the fall of 2009. Although my mom was not there to see me graduate, I know I made my mom extremely proud. My children were there to cheer for me, and my husband walked across the stage with me as I received my first college degree.
Now that I know how to persevere through horrible circumstances, I know that I will accomplish
much, much more. At this time, I do not have my masters, but I will not give up until I have my second college degree. It felt great to accomplish something that seemed so impossible. This is why I know that if I can set and reach goals, anyone can. It takes confidence, goal setting, and perseverance.
Plus, it takes faith and belief that God has a special plan for each of us, and that He will complete the work He has started in all of us. We are all masterpieces in the making. Now, my challenge to you is to persevere through all of Monday's obstacles and have a great rest of the week.
"That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."
- Abraham Lincoln