The Big Lie

A lie has been spread around like a virus and has infected way too many students. The lie is that right now, you are unworthy of actually having or even wanting the things you desire in life. Unfortunately, so many people believe they are not good enough to have that special someone, a nice home, a 4.0 GPA, a college diploma, a nice car, etc.

That idea is a huge, stinking pile of cow poop.

We are all, every single one of us including you, worthy of the best this world has to offer. Why? Because you are alive. Simply because you are living you are worthy of greatness, success, happiness, riches, love, and everything you want. If your heart can feel it, then you’re worthy of it. If you weren’t worthy, you wouldn’t have been born. If you weren’t worthy, you wouldn’t even have the desire that is the subject of your thought.

Plain and simple, G-d does not make junk. And G-d would not have made you unless there was a purpose for you. So if you have ever felt like you wanted to achieve something but you weren’t good enough for it, now you know you are. If you weren’t worthy, you wouldn’t even have the idea of what you want. Go ahead, think of something you truly would love to have in your life.

Let’s say you want to be a dean’s list student. Just because you have that desire, you have the right to it. The missing link is that if you want to be an A student but you only see yourself as a C student, you will never break free from the mental image of yourself to take the necessary steps to get those A’s. You have to be able to first see yourself as an A student before you can ever become one.

Just because you have the ability to have the thought, you have the right to obtain that goal. It’s that simple. You, my friend, are worthy of anything and everything you desire. That dream job, that perfect internship, that great GPA all can be yours with the right mindset that believes you can have these things.

Why? Because once you feel this, you will believe it’s possible for you, and that will allow you to start taking the actions an A student would take. Think of what an A student would do (or find out if you don’t know) and then do those things.

But here’s the caveat: you’re entitled to absolutely nothing. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. But consider this...

You’re entitled to zilch, zero, nada, nothing... but you’re worthy of everything. You have to understand the difference. To get what you truly want out of life and school, you are going to have to relinquish your comfy, effortless ride in the passenger side and get into the driver’s seat. What this means is kicking excuses out of your life forever. In his book The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Eric Hoffer wrote, “There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement.”

No one will walk up to you and hand you everything you want. And honestly, if there were someone who could do that, you really wouldn’t want that. I’m serious. Believe it or not, the struggle to overcome challenges is what makes accomplishments truly worthwhile. Tom Hanks’ character Jimmy Dugan said it best in the movie A League of Their Own: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.”

Think of it like this. Let’s say your favorite sport is basketball. Which scenario would you prefer to be in?

• Scenario 1: You decide to join one of the most competitive basketball leagues out there. The day before the first game, every other team gets sick and has to forfeit the season, and your team is named the National Champion. You never had to lift a finger,but you are now the champ.

• Scenario 2: You decide to join one of the most competitive basketball leagues out there. You play some of the most competitive b-ball of your life. You practice harder than you’ve ever practiced before; you shed blood, sweat, and tears preparing and playing this season. You barely make it into the playoffs and win each game by less than five points until you advance to the finals. You go all the way to game seven playing one of the best teams in the league. With less than thirty seconds left in the final game of the championship, with your team down by two points, you get passed the ball, shake a defender, get an open shot, and release a three-pointer that lands right as the clock shows “0.00.” Now you are the champ!

Which scenario would you rather have happen in your life? The first scenario is completely unfulfilling. The second scenario is what dreams are made of. So even if you could just get handed what you wanted, it wouldn’t be as rewarding. In fact, some people say, “Hard work is its own reward.”

And the best time to get to work creating your life is right now. I see way too many students just sitting back and waiting for someone to call them up and offer them a dream job, or just sitting back and waiting for Mr./Ms. Right just to walk up to them and introduce themselves. Get real!

Deciding to commit to your success and sticking to it is not always easy. You are going to fail more times than you have ever failed before. Let me just tell you that it is 100% normal. People will say “no” to you over and over and over again... but you only need that one “yes.” You only need that one opportunity that changes everything about your life. How you perceive life is your responsibility, and your reaction to the word “no” will greatly influence whether you become extraordinary or remain ordinary.

Think about professional baseball players. A hall-of-fame player will have around a .300 batting average. What that means is that seven out of ten times, the player failed. But the three times he did succeed helped make him a Hall of Famer.

Life works the same way. Countless extremely successful people started out failing more than anyone else. One story I love is that of Sylvester Stallone, the actor who played Rocky. His story is filled with failure after failure of how he became a blockbuster actor. If you want to see the video and hear his amazing journey and how he took control of his life, repeatedly failed, and ultimately succeeded, go to www.yourstartingpointonline.com.

When you begin your journey toward success, people will tell you that you are stupid, crazy, and a loser... or worse. People will tell you that you have no idea what you are doing and you won’t amount to anything. When you want to find that dream job, tons of companies will say you don’t have the proper experience or you are not what they are looking for. Don’t worry about the naysayers; they are put here to test your commitment to your goals.

It’s normal to experience haters. And when you do, then you know you are doing the right thing! When people start telling you that you can’t, in your mind, give them back the t and tell yourself you can.

Look, if you applied for a hundred jobs and got ninety-nine “nos” but got one “yes” that was for your dream job, would you care about the other ninety-nine? Once you realize the power of this and apply it to your life, people will wonder what your secret is, how is it that you are able to obtain so much, and you’ll know it’s because you understand this principle: you are in control and taking full responsibility for creating the life you want.

Arel Moodie is widely known as America's Top Young Speaker. He has spoken to over 65,000 students in 39 states and 2 countries on the topics of student success, student leadership and student entrepreneurship. He is a leading authority on helping students of this generation succeed in school and in life. He is also the best selling author of the book Your Starting Point For Student Success. To find out more about Arel's book, go to www.startingpointbook.com. To find out more about Arel's speaking please go to www.arelmoodie.com.