Empowerment is a Daily Effort

Empowerment is the main purpose of this weekly column. I stress how important it is for us to push ourselves past boundaries that are artificial. Those self-imposed, even if not self-created, barriers to leading a more fulfilling life.

Many of the barriers that we live under come not from ourselves and our lived experiences, but rather from the soup that we swim in day to day. It’s those unsaid expectations that seep in through the imagery of the fashion magazines, men’s health and fitness, the business page that reveres the hard-charging mogul.

For me it was, and still is to some degree, the bullying and homophobia that I experienced as a teen that haunts my mind; like a creature in the dark corners that comes out to prevent me from achieving – whether in love, business or relationships.

It’s why I read so many books on personal development. I listen to podcasts (besides my own!) on everything from how to market myself as a speaker to spirituality and business courses. A positive mindset, like flexibility, takes a daily effort for me. If I slip a few days, I notice it. If I slip more than a few days, you’ll notice it!

Wanting to be a successful, happy, fulfilled person is a great and lofty goal. Becoming one is a constant effort of moving forward. We can achieve more, every day. But it takes a concerted push, on all fronts, to make the changes permanent to get beyond the barriers that we learned as children and live as adults.

Having resources at our disposal and not using them, whether they are a set of work tools, or spiritual principles, or information to help us grow, is a poverty of mind and effort that will perpetuate the situation.

Zig Ziglar said it best, ‘There is little difference between the man who can’t read, and the one who won’t.’ What are you doing to build yourself, each day, into the person you want to be? For me, it’s books and podcasts.
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