Greetings Destiny Friends,

It is a well-acknowledged fact that the way you make your bed is how you will lie on it. This implies that nobody will literally give you success; you must demand it. No great or successful man/woman ever succeeded by luck, no, they took a reasonable risk by creating their own path which worked for them.

Just like there are many ways to kill a rat, there are also many ways to succeed. The question you need to ask yourself is what path am I willing to thread on? In my first published book, I had a chapter focused on “Understanding Your Uniqueness”. In the chapter, I stressed knowing what’s unique about you. You can’t succeed in life trying to be like somebody else. You can imitate someone, but you can never imitate their style. Their style is what makes them unique. It’s just like singing, dancing, writing, painting or drawing, or any talented or skilled work which distinguishes a creative person.

It is quite unfortunate in our contemporary society that there’s so much imitation. What most people fail to understand is that imitation is limitation. In the journey of life, you must create your path. Do you know that the whole world sets apart the man who knows where he’s headed? Visionary leaders are always misunderstood because of their ideas and dreams. Many see their ideas as unattainable, but they fail to see what the person is seeing. The truth is that we all might sit in the same classroom, but we don’t hear, understand and comprehend the same thing. We all might be walking together, but we don’t see the same thing. We all experience pain, but we don’t feel the same thing.

For you to truly succeed, you must create your own path. Creating your own path entails knowing yourself, your purpose, and the legacy you would like to create or leave behind. You don’t have to care much about what other people say. Don’t get me wrong, it is good to hear the opinion of others, but the ultimate decision is up to you to take. This is because you are the architect of your life. Nobody knows you more than you know yourself.

Your path may be uncommon, and that’s okay. For example, your joy in life may be to be an entrepreneur, employee, a minister of the gospel, or even an academic. All that is important is your happiness and fulfillment. You shouldn’t be concerned with the kind of lifestyle or choice of another person. It’s sad to note that most people judge success by money alone. Don’t get me wrong, money is good, but it shouldn’t be to the detriment of your peace of mind, your health, and most especially your fulfillment in life.

Identified below are ways one can create his own path:

Have a vision

We all have dreams, but sadly, many of us die without accomplishing our dreams. Growing up, we all have dreams of what we would like to be, but as we grow older, the vicissitudes of life make us settle for what is available, very few determined minds dared to live their dreams even when it seems unpopular to most people. If I may ask, what’s your vision? If you can create your vision, the next thing for you is to create goals that support the vision. When the vision is created, the onus is on you to listen to the inner still voice within you. Do yourself a favor and stop listening to other people. Remember, you are creating your path and not their path.

Follow Your Intuition

Intuition is our innate inclination towards a certain behavior. Basically, it is your instincts. Generally, your intuition will guide you in the direction that you need to go. It can be hard to hear our intuition at times, especially if we are not in the habit of listening to it. To know if you have the right promptings, you’ll have peace of mind whenever you are working on purpose.

Don’t Be Scared

Fear is a natural human emotion. We all feel it occasionally. Fear is one of the killers of dreams and opportunities. No one said you have to be the bravest person in the world in order to live your dream. But you do have to be willing to face your fears and go for it anyways. Fear can mean face everything and rise or false evidence appearing real. Anyone you decide to pursue is your choice.

In order to create your path, fear should be the last thing in your mind, as a matter of fact, you should be afraid of failing. Fear should motivate you. If you believe in your idea, you shouldn’t be afraid of walking in the path. It’s okay to feel afraid, but please don’t let those fears stop you. You can literally overcome the fear by taking a risk.

Stand for what you believe in

If you don’t stand for something in life, you will fall for anything. A great philosopher once said, in matters of principle, stand firm like a rock, but in matters of taste, fluctuate like a current. If you have a cause or vision you are passionate about, you will encounter challenges that may tempt you to give up, but your ability to stand your ground is what will define you. A typical example of a man that stood his ground for what he believes in is the former President of South African, Nelson Mandela. He fought against the apartheid laws in South Africa. He was jailed for twenty-seven years, but at the end of the day, he was elected the President of South Africa.

It should be noted that there will be an associated risk when you decide to choose your path. You might win, you might lose. The mistake most people make in life is not taking worthy risks. Some risk is literally unreasonable. The worthy risk is a calculated risk. So, why not take the risk and join the millionaires? To know an example of a worthy risk; if as a single man you see a lady you like, have the courage to let her know your honest thoughts towards her, the worst response you’ll get is a no, a rebuff, or even humiliation. However, you might still be fortunate to get a positive answer because you may never know if she’s admiring you without your knowledge. So why not take that risk and be satisfied that you have done your bit as opposed to living in regret tomorrow.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s a mindset coach and public speaker. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com