THIS WEEK I will be sharing a personal story, views from Ralph Marston who is called the daily motivator. Over time I have been motivated by his words and I know you will too. Your thoughts don’t have to be limited by your situation. Neither do your expectations, your attitude, your enthusiasm and your efforts.

As real and as burdensome as the difficulty may be, you can make it irrelevant in your mind. From that powerful inner perspective, you’ll find ways to transcend the difficulty in the outer world. Claim the full power of thought, of vision, of imagination, that is available to you. Let that power push you into positive, effective action. You are not your defeats, you are not your victories. You are the person who can make a new choice in every new moment. You are not your challenges, you are not your skills. You are the person who can craft a rich and meaningful life out of it all. Carry always a positive, unshakable vision within you. Feel the beauty of that vision as it leads you to make good things happen no matter what.
Sometimes it is difficult to keep that vision alive in challenging times. No matter what, we need to keep our eyes on the PRIZE.

Let me share a story with you. When I saw the poster online with Motivating the Masses with Lisa Nichols, I called my cousin Clemencio who is a big fan of hers. I said “Clem I will be going to Atlanta with Lisa Nichols for four days”. I wrote to the email address on the website requesting to barter some of my designs for the registration fee. I visualized myself in that conference at the Marriott but had no idea how I was going to do it. I had to find a way to get there no matter what. I calculated the registration fee, hotel, air fare, food, etc and it was costing a few thousand US dollars but I knew it would be worth it. Financially, at that point, I could not afford it but urgently I needed the registration fee to secure my space at the conference. I NEEDED TO BE THERE, I NEED TO BE THERE, GOD YOU KNOW I NEED TO BE THERE AND WILL BE THERE, YOUR WILLING.

Every morning I told myself it is POSSIBLE but on some days I was more optimistic than some but I knew saying maybe you can’t make it was not an option.
They were offering a special if two persons registered together but none of my friends or colleagues who are interested in personal development were free to attend. I was bent on exploring all angels. That day I finally got registered I thanked God extra but it was not just a registration but VIP Registration that will allow me to have more access to Lisa.

I was so sure I had enough miles for a return ticket but learnt that I only had enough for a one-way so I booked that. My daughter Mariska said “Mom you can’t travel on a one-way ticket because you are not a resident of the USA”. I looked at the ticket and said with my God everything is possible and I knew that ticket was getting me into Miami. I had a plan on how to get my return ticket and pay the other part of my trip. Two down, one to go…which was my hotel.

I had friends and relatives in Atlanta but far from the Marriott and it would have been convenient to stay at the same venue where the event was but the rooms available were $600 a night. Let me tell you how God is awesome! One night I decided to join the closed group for persons who registered for the event and Angie Lomax’s status was looking for someone to share a room. Guess where the room was? The Marriott of course. “Inbox me if you are interested.”

I messaged her in seconds, lol and we had it organized in a few minutes.
I was invited for the third consecutive year to the Chapman Partnership Gala which is one of the high level events on the Miami Social Calendar. I had one of those WOW moments the year before when the MC asked the persons who wrote a cheque for a million or more(not Guyana Dollars) to stand and was astonished by the number of people who stood up including baseball player, Alex Rodriguez. My friend Bill was kind to allow be to bring a guest to a 1000 US a plate dinner so I decided to invite my friend Carla Bristol who was hosting an event for me at her Gallery.

Life is challenging but can be funny sometimes. As I inhaled the splendid ambiance created at the Marriott Marque I reflected on the cost of my one ticket and the cost of this dinner and smiled to myself. My bank account probably reflected the lowest available balance in that room but I was among the most confident in that room. I created such a presence that a few persons came and asked who I was.

After the fabulous event around midnight we drove from Miami to St Petersburg. It was the week before the Atlanta event which worked out for Conversations and Clothing with Sonia Noel in St Petersburg at Gallerie 909 which was a success. The trip on the Greyhound bus to Atlanta was pleasant but took over 10 hours but I was closer to the Marriott to attend a life-changing event.
Every life has a story. What was your biggest take away from this column today?