Mediocrity is bearable when we play the blaming game. When mastered we join the ranks of the self anointed martyrs.
The martyr complex can only exist in an environment where personal responsibility is absent.

Life is so much more uncomfortable when we acknowledge that it is the sum of our choices that have got us to where we are. Good or bad, they were our choices. Mom didn't hug us enough, Dad was unnecessarily judgmental, bullying was rife at school, the housing estate we grew up in was a killer of ambition, the boy or girl of our dreams cheated on us.....

Nevertheless, whatever the circumstances the choices and actions we engaged in are cumulatively what have lead us to where we are right now. We can let our circumstances define us. We can choose to live our lives mired in a world of self pity or we can learn from the past and make new choices based on where we want to go rather than live with a million excuses to stagnate.

Today is a new day full of hope and opportunity, new choices, new decisions and ultimately new results!

Birds of a feather do flock together. There are few predictors of human behavior more accurate than choice of peer group.

Self esteem seems to magically attract an energy in sync with this perceived sense of self worth. Good things tend to happen to people who are happy and confident in their own skin and alas vice versa.

This appears to be compounded when individuals congregate into tribes. The totality of the group outlook dominates its constituents attitude. This is very apparent within the penal system. We call it the revolving door syndrome. Petty criminals who spend their time confined in a culture of anti establishment sentiment, soon become inculcated into this pervasive way of thinking.

Fitness fanatics work out with their peers and gradually inherit a similar value system that impacts their daily thoughts and behaviour.

Self employed entrepreneurs hang around the same forums, read the same literature, and gravitate towards the same end game - Success.

This might seem obvious but many of us drift into groups without any conscious design. One day we look around us and realise that our peer group comprises of a bunch of whinging, negative, cynical, worn out poor souls who have completely given up on chasing the dreams and aspirations of youth!

Look at your peer group and if they are not heading in the direction you want for your life - then perhaps wean yourself off. There are billions of people on the planet - start aligning yourself to those whose values and goals are similar to yours.

Become inspired, feed off their energy and renew your belief in what's possible for your life!

1% of the time our Fears really are justified - the rest of the time it's our fertile imagination that turns pussycat obstacles into seemingly ferocious predators

We are all capable of extraordinary deeds if only we had belief. Fear and excitement are emotional first cousins. They both kick in to wake us up and prompt us to take ACTION! Fear usually inspires flight or submission whereas excitement and passion inspires LEADERSHIP.

If you truly believed that it was your destiny to make a difference in the world,  to complete a triathlon, build a business empire, earn a million dollars a year, make a documentary or lose 60 kilos... you would be unstoppable.

In the absence of belief the next best thing to do is.......saturate yourself with empowering messages, hang around inspiring people and focus every hour of every day on your goal.

It might take a week, a month or a few years for your subconscious to buy into the the new destiny, but inexorably you'll find yourself attracting the people and circumstances required to bring your vision into reality.

Trust in your vision and commit to daily ACTIONS that will bring it to fruition

Fighting words! Our choice of words can define our perceptions of what's possible.

A circumstance is merely a label we use to describe an experience that we have already filtered through our senses. Usually there's a sub text: 'give me  break - what with the weather, the kids, the economy, my mother in law - under the circumstances.....' The sub text is: 'I have an excuse to procrastinate, and I can sleep easy by justifying my lack of activity due to those damn circumstances.'

Do you want to drop 10 Kilo's or earn an extra $25k or learn Spanish, attain a black belt in a martial art, learn a musical instrument, write a book, travel to Brazil or any number of goals that at first sight seem daunting?

Beware those circumstances that your imagination has conjured up, just to keep you warm in the comfort zone of the ordinary. Dream BIG - and to hell with the circumstances - You live once - live it LARGE!!

There's an apt saying: "Lead , follow or get out of the way." Indecision breeds confusion and disaster. 
Leaders are not necessarily smarter than you or I, or indeed more worthy of following - how many leaders have led their followers towards oblivion?

What leaders do however is get things done. They share their vision, attract an audience and dictate the direction of the activity.

Opportunities abound but so few grasp the thorns, fearful of the illusion of failure and their perceived vulnerability to criticism and ridicule.

The pity is that concepts such as right or wrong are just that. All great achievements are preceded by hitherto perceptions of failure. Whether or not the world agrees with your proposition that the earth is flat or that evolution is a myth, or any number of beliefs you hold, the opinion of the masses need not impact you expressing your own genius.

leaders make things happen and get things done. They make mistakes and adjust their course. Followers are also moving in a direction. Ultimately followers may morph into leaders themselves, but the unfortunate unbelievers, those that fail to grasp the notion that self actualisation is a choice, the belief that one can steer their own course and destiny, will always fail to see beyond a set horizon.

You can be do and have so much more than you may think possible if you could only truly believe that you are worthy of leadership. Share your passion, ignore the naysayers and be consistent and persistent and people will follow