“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
-Jim Rohn
This week was especially difficult because I come from a dysfunctional family, without a father, I grew up on the streets where I developed a survival mode mentality, and I had both lost and overcome so much that, honestly, when I was robbed at gunpoint and shot it the head, it was just another day where I had to look inside myself for the strenth to keep moving forward. You see, my whole life I had fought to keep my head above sea-level and at the time I was shot, I was living a life I had always dreamt for myself and despite my previous hardships, I continued to never give up and learn how to overcome adversity. With that said, this week, individuals began abandoning me, in an effort to discourage me from working so hard to overcome the adversity that I am facing, I have to remember where I came from, nobody knows what I am capable of but me, and it is fine if other people give up on me as long as I never give up on myself.
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Emancipation From Mental Slavery
“Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
-Steve Jobs
You become what you think about most, which could be a product of your ideas, or, you could conclude your life by becoming encapsulated within the influence of others. My daily struggle of fighting everyday to drowned out external noise and influences taught me that many of us are programmed since birth to condemn our thoughts to external forces and unknowingly become victims of intellectual slavery. Escaping mental enslavement is an everyday battle for me, whether it is being told that I will never walk again, that I have to wear leg braces for the rest of my life, or being told that I am lazy for resting after working my ass into the ground so that I can survive, daily intellectual hardship is an adversity that I had to learn how to overcome, and I know that I am not the only one. For example, many individuals succumb to envy of the portrayed lifestyles on social media, then they wish to have something that do not have, and before you know it, a rabbit hole is created where your intellectual freedom seemingly becomes hijacked. With that said, a great lesson that I had learn so I could overcome adversity is that it was essential for me to detach from external influences and begin the journey of reconditioning my mindset by spending less time with others who do not push me towards progress and consume content that promotes personal growth or expands my knowledge. There is a motto that says, “You are what you eat.” While this is true, you become what you feed your mind as well. Your thoughts are the foundation of your existence, and it is impossible to have positive results with negative thinking. With that said, my recovery taught me that if I wanted to maximize my progress then I to begin reprogramming my thinking, surround myself with only those who create empowering relationships with me, and emancipate myself from sources of mental slavery.
Reverse Engineer Your Future to Overcome Adversity
“Everything starts with your belief whether or not it can be done…Always do what it takes to paint the clearest picture of the life you want.”
-Mathew Loop
When I was in the coma, I did not know what happened but I knew it was something life threatening. I had no idea that I had shot in the head while sitting in my car, all I knew was that my spirit and body met at a cross road where I was offered a chance to live in flesh or, live in spirit. At this moment, I saw myself as fully walking and functioning, then I saw myself in various gyms doing fitness related exercises with a trainer and my family, and then I saw myself in the coma. This near death experience taught me perhaps one of the most life changing lesson to overcoming adversity, to reverse engineer your challenges to achieve everything that you REALLY want out of life, not just what you think you can get. Everything in life is attainable, within reach, and achievable, it is all about your mindset and approach because what you put into life is what you will get out of it. Cassius, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, said, “Men at some time are masters of their fates; The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” Nobody is responsible for the outcomes our lives but ourselves. If you are unhappy with the way things are, I learned through my recovery, that if you take accountability for the state of your life and then take responsibility by dealing with your adverse circumstances so you can take control of your life you will break free from the shackles that are holding you down and opportunities will appear in it’s place.
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Ancient Chinese warrior, Sun Tzu, and philosopher said, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” I was on my deathbed, had a 5% chance of survival. While in my coma I had an experience, I could choose to be defeated, or, I could choose to fight and overcome. Today, I am following my vision of steps of which must be taken to ensure my full recovery. Everyday is a battle, however, this is a battle I won before going to war. Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” I was told to order a high powered wheelchair think because I would never walk again. I never ordered that wheelchair because I will walk again. Planting that seed of positivity is like planting a tree. The thought will become deep rooted and grow and flourish and eventually become fruitful. You become what you think about most. Possibilities in life are endless, the only limitations lie within your imagination.
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Overcome Adversity by Muting Suppressing Factors
Material items such as iPads, cars, and jewelry, for example, are replaceable, however, your life is not. People are easily manipulated by social media, propaganda, radio, and other communication outlets and the reason is simple, the majority of the masses are unable to think for themselves. For example, why do you think social media is incredibly successful? Because mass media is notorious for its ability to influence and control the control the population, why do you think they are called influencers? Mark Twain once said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” Psychological manipulation and propaganda dissemination is a science, and you must break away from the control, trust me, I am a communications major specializing in mass media communications. You become what you think about most and if you live your life under somebody else’s influence you become vulnerable to venture off the path that is waiting for you and become somebody else’s pawn. Additionally, if you are unhappy where you are in life, close your eyes and in great detail envision where you want to be and retrace your steps in reverse to learn how you got there. With that said, to live a life by your plan, you must emancipate yourself from mental slavery, recondition your internal programming, and reverse engineer your future to overcome adversity.
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Nolan McDonnell 