Many of today's most successful people had to overcome obstacles. Oprah Winfrey was molested and family turned against her; Tyler Perry was once homeless; Bill Gates was a college drop out, yet they all were determined to move in destiny & purpose. Their attitudes did not let unfortunate past circumstances dictate their awesome futures. Many times you see people's glory and never know their story! I don't know them personally yet, but I'm sure they all believed in themselves no matter what anyone else said or believed about them. It's okay to be confident, but not arrogant. It's those struggles in life that should always keep us humble. I, too, had to learn to leave the past behind and move towards the greatness in front of me.

Many of our own failures and successes are caused by the right or wrong choices we make. Even if we made a few bad choices in life, you can still pick yourself back up and move forward. My biggest breakthrough was learning to love myself and realizing I too had a couple of gifts and talents to be used for the good of this world. I learned to stop always trying to downplay or even prove myself to others, but focus on the purposes and plans for my life, family & destiny. I stopped blaming others for life's misfortune and learned how to forgive and keep it moving. I also quit feeling sorry for myself. When I changed my mindset from being a victim to becoming victorious, my entire life turned around for the better! As I always say, "positive thoughts bring about positive things!" Whatever you focus on will become your reality. When you love yourself, you don't accept mistreatment or disrespect from anyone. You gracefully learn to rise above hurtful words from jealous or miserable people because you know who you are!

You also learn to stay away from negative people and associate with other positive eagles soaring in greatness. I had to learn to leave the nay-sayers, people not for me and trouble makers behind, even if they are family or people I had known for years. List the people around you and list the blessings or curses they bring into your life. If it's more drama than blessings, let them go! You should never allow just anyone in your inner circle. You have to walk with your head up and never settle for anything less than God's best because you deserve it. If Oprah, Tyler & Bill did it, so can we!

And always stay Blessed to be a Blessing!