Where did I leave off? Oh, yes, I was telling you that… 

You Create Your Life! 

At 25 years of age, I was at a valley of my life but also at the apex of self-discovery. I did major soul searching and realized that everything I was going through was directly tied to the thoughts I had been thinking up to that point. That was terrifying and liberating at the same time. It took away all my excuses of why “bad things were happening to a good person” but also empowered me to know that…

if I caused it, I could change it. 

I needed guidance on how to change so I became a student of the success classics, reading and re-reading every book my father had ever given me. I could not afford to buy books, so I went back to my childhood roots and spent hours (I was unemployed at the time!) in the library…reading and writing. 

In the span of about 2 years, I had read well over 200 books on a wide range of subjects – mostly self-improvement, inspirational and financial. I would like to tell you that things changed on a dime…they didn’t. I had many failings, but they were progressively leading me to higher and higher levels. I had learned to win the “inner battle” before I faced the outer challenges. 

In 1993, my father-in-law gave me a tiny copy of James Allen’s “As A Man Thinketh”.  My father has also given me a copy when I was very young.  This little copy fit right in my pocket. I read it every day for months, until the lessons it could transfer were inherent to my character…my being. One of the most impactful passages:

“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his every experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power.” 

James Allen – As A Man Thinketh 

So, I kept reading…and writing. My life kept getting better and better. It took about a decade for the new seeds of thought to germinate, grow and become a harvest of a better life. The old seeds of thought had to run their course and since I had learned the lessons that their harvest provided; I was sure not to re-plant them. 

As I turn the corner to the milestone of 56, that is all so much clearer now, in hindsight. It also provides the foresight into my next 56  years. 

I am closing in on another major milestone – 2,000,000 words in print. Books, blogs, training programs etc. Think that is easy? Stare at a blank page and type for 1 hour and then count the words. 

Was it hard? Not for me. 

In fact, since I was 25, I have always been writing – mainly to myself. I easily have another 2,000,000 words that most of you will never see. When I need a reminder that I Create My Life, I look at the words the 25-year-old Brandon is telling the 56-year-old Brandon. 

He is a smart kid, and the 50-year-old is wise enough to listen. 

 What are you telling yourself today? Is it congruent with what you want in your life? If not, change it, because… 

You Create Your Life!