Is Is True?

IS IT TRUE?

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, May 18, 2012

Three simple words that when asked of yourself, could change the direction of your life.

We have been told since time began that “we can become anything we desire to become.”

Is it true?

If today I decided that I wanted to become the Pope, is it true?  I suppose it could happen but is it realistically true?  Of course not.

If today I decided that I wanted to play in the National Basketball Association, is it true?  Again it “could” but extremely not very realistic.

Let’s consider our own self-talk which many folks will respond to by saying “I don’t talk to myself.”  If THAT were true, who said, “I don’t talk to myself?”

“I could never talk in front of an audience!”  Really?  Is that really true?  If someone put a gun to your head and told you to talk or else, do you think you could talk to an audience?

“I am not a creative person?”  Really?  Is it true?  You never created one thing, one thought, one relationship, etc in your life?

“I can’t be as successful as so-and-so?”  Really?  Is it true?

“So-and-so is only successful because he or she was lucky, knew a lot of people, fell into it, was helped by a spouse, a work relationship, etc, etc, etc.”  Really?  Is it true?  Or did so-and-so enjoy success because he or she decided success is what was desired and then set out on a course to pursue it?

Mooring lines are ropes that hold a ship to the dock.  They are real.  They can be massive and imposing.  They are typically dirty and smell like fish and they usually take more than just one person to handle.

Your beliefs, real or imagined, are YOUR mooring lines.  They hold you back and they are extremely effective in doing so.  They too are usually dirty and if you look closely they usually smell as well.  IMPORTANT FACT:  Most personal mooring lines are imagined, they are NOT true; you only think they are true.  Could you talk in front of an audience if you had to?  Absolutely.  Therefore your belief is not true.  You may be nervous.  You may stumble on your words.  You may forget what you wanted to say.  In fact you may be absolutely horrible but is it true you can’t speak in front of an audience – NO WAY!

More importantly your own personal mooring lines also take more than one to handle. Help, support or discouragement?  Unfortunately there is an over abundance of people who will believe they are helping you or are supporting you by reinforcing THEIR belief that you cannot do something or achieve what you desire.  Those folks typically start with family members who may have the best of intentions – don’t want to see you get hurt or fail – but in reality may be your strongest mooring lines.  After all you want to cement good relations with family, you don’t want them to think you are nuts or over the top, correct?

Then there are your friends.  Your co-workers.  Your boss.  Your social group.  Your golfing buddies (sorry had to put that in), you name it there are any number of people for all kinds of different reasons will suggest you are about to embark on something that will eventually hurt you and cause you to fail.  Really?  How do THEY know?  Have they done what you want to do or are they just guessing?  Is it true that you will most assuredly fail?

I believe it was Joe Tye who suggested that when you get three “You are crazy” opinions, you know you are on the right track.

Terri Cole-Whittaker wrote, “What you think of me is none of my business!”  Think about that for a minute.  Does the opinion of others really matter?  Are they going to be doing the work, or not?  Are they going to be investing their time, or not?  Are they going to be investing their money, or not?  One thing for sure, except for family members, they also will not be reaping the fruits of your labors.  It is not about them.  It is about you, your dreams, what you want in life.

You may not agree with this Nugget and frankly that is fine.  It really doesn’t matter.  What you think of me or what I do is none of my business unless what I am doing is illegal. Writing Nuggets is hardly illegal – they may be poorly written, they may not apply to you, in fact they may not have any value to anyone except for me of course and that is okay.

An opinion is a valuable commodity – it’s yours (and mine)!  You are not in my shoes and I not in yours.  You have no idea from where my opinion was formulated or why and I have no knowledge of the development of your opinion.  What I know is that I can respect YOUR opinion and beliefs and hopefully you mine. 

Here is an opinion (mine) about America.  Today if someone has a differing opinion (than you), they tend to demonize those persons who have a differing opinion (you).  Therefore, listen NOT to the opinions of others when it comes to fulfilling YOUR dreams.  Surely take in their council but only for consideration.  The ONLY opinion that truly counts is YOUR OPINION!

YOU CAN’T (INSERT WHATEVER YOU WISH):

IS IT TRUE?  REALLY?