If you don't believe in yourself, why should anybody else?

Since I have run my own business since 1998, I know what it's like not to have to take whatever employers feel is fair in the way of compensation, not to have to dance the corporate dance to make sure your job is secure or that you get a raise. There's nothing inherently wrong with doing this, I've had to do it in the past, many times; we all do what we must to survive.

But there's something in all of this that I do not understand. You see a lot of inspirational quotes encouraging people to believe in themselves, quotes like "take the bull by the horns', 'if you need a helping hand look to the end of your arm' and 'don't be afraid of change'. Now, don't get me wrong here, I love such quotes, I think they often nail an inherent truth about life, and I love reading them. They never fail to inspire me, even if only for a moment.

But what confuses me is that very, very few people actually take this advice, and it's a shame, because so many people who could carve out a successful niche for themselves simply cannot bring themselves to bet on the one person they should bet on: them. Here's the question that most people are, I think, afraid to even contemplate, much less try to answer: if there is something about your life that you do not like, what are you doing to change it? I know a lady who is barely scraping by trying to make ends meet, it's not a good situation. And yet she will not do anything to try and improve her lot, she simply keeps plowing ahead and hoping something good will happen. I hope it does, for her sake. Indeed, I pray that it does. But isn't a favorite inspirational quote "God helps those who help themselves?"

Whatever choice you make today will determine the conditions of your life a year from now. If you are happy and content and financially secure, then by all means, change nothing! I hope to join you there someday. But if you aren't, then what is your escape plan, what are you doing to make things better?

For a long time, that was me. I did nothing and expected improvement in my life, which is a close cousin to the definition of insanity. I kept expecting some windfall from God, maybe winning the lottery or something. Finally, though, some piece of advice sank in and I got off my duff and started taking back my life. I'm happier than I have been in years.

Now, it's your turn.