BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

                                                   First, Think

                                                 Second, Believe

                                                  Third, Dream

                                                 And finally, Dare

                                                                          --- Walt Disney

Why is it, that we don’t believe in ourselves. That, as soon as things get tough in our lives, we start doubting ourselves, we start thinking that we’re not going to make it, stressing, worrying, imagining things that may go wrong in the future. We need to understand the human mind is the most powerful tool we own but it can also be the most destructive. And we need to learn how to take control of the direction of our mind and our emotions. Your mind is going to provide you with the greatest challenges in your life because it is so powerful so if you can conquer your mind then you can pretty much conquer anything else around you.

When writing the story of your life, make sure you hold the pen. Make sure you not only hold the pen but you write the script from your heart. Be brave when writing your script. It’s your story and there are no limits to what you can have or what you can do or what you can be. How bad do you want it? You have got to prove it to yourself that you want it bad enough. It’s got to hurt you not to get it and that’s when you’re going to learn to conquer your mind. Your mind will no longer be able to say no because your inner heart and mind are aligned and now nothing can stop you. It’s easy to be all positive and consistent when everything is going your way but that’s not life. That’s not realistic. Are you going to be one of the very few to stand up when things are tough, when everything is going against you. Will you be able to believe in what’s right and what brings results to your life, that’s when your character will shine. That’s when your story will be born. Your story is valuable. Your story of success.

You can’t build a story if you stop now, if you give up. The world is full of people who gave up. The world needs hope. The world needs you to stand up to fight through your challenging moments, to shine through the dark times, to love through the hate and to be the difference in an indifferent world, to believe in yourself.

With this I remember how I trained my mind and conquered my fear to perform a dance infront of a large group of audience. I have this hidden talent of dancing to the rhythm, no one literally knows about. I started dancing at the age of 5 or 6 I believe. Back then, my sister used to be my dance partner, and never did a family occasion go without our dance performance. My grandfather words were, back then, “Set up a DJ and have party! Dance as long as your heart tells you to do it.” We used to choreograph on almost all the Bollywood with little mix of Hollywood songs. Then at the time of graduation, I joined a group of professional dancers and danced all along the weekends. But my heart beats raced faster than the speed of light when I heard the news that we are going to participate in a dance competition and had to perform at KNC, the Kamla Nehru College of Delhi University. I wanted to backout but then this was my dream, to give a dance performance onstage and hear the audience clap for me, that light on my face warned me I can’t back out. I have to perform irrespective of the fear that was pulling me down. When we were on the stage, I just closed my eyes and counted till 10, saying to myself that I can do it. I have to do it. And I will do it. No matter what. And when I heard the first beat of my song, I just flowed with the rhythm and the fear which was running in my mind, vanished. It just flew away. And I got a sense of self-confidence and self-belief. Our group stood second but it’s okay. Nobody is perfect.

There are a few things you just can’t learn from a textbook that you have to live through, to see to be fully entrenched in. Because here is a simple truth. This world is a tough place. Getting what you want, making the most of the time you have, requires that you put yourself in the position to succeed. It means you see a finish line before one exists. Look, no one is ever going to call you and tell you how incredible your idea is. You can’t build a business on potential or win a championship on promise. Results are binary. You either accomplished something or you simply did not. That’s it. That’s what people see. The Result. So that means every second, every step of the way from where you are, rightnow, until you cross the finish line, depends on you and your thoughts. How you internalize failure, how you look at setbacks, when no one is around to pat you on the back or tell you how great you are. Will you have enough self-belief to move forward?

Because my friends, that’s the hardest part. That’s what no one talks about. Having the courage to wake up every single day of your life and know that you are building towards something incredible. You are creating a masterpiece from the ground up. And that means when you are looking in the mirror, you believe in what’s staring back at you. You see the unseen and you are willing to bring it to life. That is the foundation that you build greatness on. And it’s a daily pursuit. Creating milestones, designing the small wins that keep you going, that keep you moving. That get you past all those times you so desperately want to turn around but know that for you it simply isn’t an option, that is not your reality. You have more waiting for you. And so you press on. Cloaked in confidence, you move into the unknown, seeking the day. The rest of the world looks up and calls you lucky.

They’ll look at what you built and say how fortunate you are. But they won’t comprehend the 20 hour days, the focus, the ridicule for being different or obsessive or non-conformist. They won’t know that self-belief trumped all of that. That it was everything. The word great is separate for a reason. It implies a specific set of beliefs and values. It means you saw light when most people saw darkness. It means you said yes when most people said no. You moved forward when the rest of the world turned around. Believe in your greatness. See it. Live it. It is there. And you need to know that it’s there because it will make all the difference. Your self-belief will define you.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." --Vincent van Gogh