What's holding you back? What's stopping you from being the person that you want to be? What's preventing you from reaching your goals? What's standing in the way of your destiny? It could be one thing, or a combination of many things. Either way, the obstacles in your life have to be overcome in order for you to move forward into your future. In order for you to get ahead, you have to push those things out-of-the-way, and walk into your season of success.  The time is now...to seize the moment, to be who you are destined to be, and to hold the person in the mirror accountable for fulfilling their destiny.  What are you waiting for? Opportunity? Well, opportunity is what you create. Despite what people say, it doesn't knock on your door; you have to go out and find it. Go out and grab your destiny by the horns and take charge. You are the master of your own destiny, the author of your own biography, and the star of your own Emmy award-winning sitcom. Where you land on the charts is totally up to you. Stop waiting for someone to make you an offer, and go out and get your blessings.

🖤🖤Susa🖤🖤

Choices. We all have to make them, and some may be tougher than others.  Many times, people fail to take responsibility for the choices that they have made in their lives, and choose to blame others (and God) for the turn their lives have taken. The blame will be tenfold if the consequences of those choices are steep. If you've ever been to church, or had an intimate conversation with your grandma, you've heard the saying, 'All things work according to the will of God.'   The problem is, many people use this quote as an excuse to wallow in the misery of the consequences of their choices.

Choices are all around us. Whether we choose between something so simple as chocolate or vanilla ice cream, or something more important like quitting our job and becoming an entrepreneur; making choices is a constant part of our life.  The problem I have is, people fail to realize that, many times, the things we choose in our lives don’t only just affect us, but our spouse, our children, and all of our descendants.  Now, I'm not saying that there isn't a higher power watching over us.  I am most certainly a woman of faith and I know for sure that God does have a plan for each and every one of us, but as humans, we have free will and the ability to choose for ourselves. That’s where choice comes in.

Every choice we make has its own set of consequences, and since we are the one making the choice, we can't blame anyone else for what happens to us.  Here's an example. Think of God as a father who takes out a college fund for his only daughter.  He's worked hard and saved with plans for this daughter to attend college and become a physician. Things appear to be going along fine until, ten days before graduation, his daughter comes home and tells him that she's fallen in love, and is foregoing college to get married instead. Of course, he is devastated. Those were not the plans he had for her. .He warns her of all the things that could go wrong, but she gets married  anyway.  The marriage ends after a year and the daughter returns home. Her father never lost his plan for her future, her college fund is still there, and she's still able to enroll in school.  She's still able to accomplish her dream. She may have some baggage, but she's able to become a physician just like her father planned.

Take this example and apply it to your life. God does have a purpose for our lives...it will work according to His plan, but oftentimes, He has to work around our choices. He makes a detour in our road to destruction for us to accomplish what we need to accomplish.  If you're obedient and follow the plan that's been set for you, He will give you your hearts desire. His will shall be fulfilled.  One thing I have learned, God is faithful.  He will continue to protect us, continue to guide us, and will never leave our side.  Even with all of this, we still must realize that every choice comes at a price, You must decide if you are willing to pay it.

Choose wisely.

🖤🖤Susa🖤🖤

Today, while working with a group of teens and mentors, we did an exercise that was mind-blowing and set me on a new path for the upcoming year.  I have always been one to continuously look for ways to better myself, my brand, and pursue a path of excellence in regards to my personal and professional lives.  I mean, what other way is there to do it...if you plan to do anything, then do it to the best of your ability.  First, we were asked to identify common brands like Nike, Tropicana, BMW, etc. just by looking at the company's logo.  Next, we were shown three pictures, one of which was Donald Trump, and asked to tell what we thought about those brands.  Using the momentum from these activities, we were then asked to fill out a form with the following requirements: 1.) List 6 things that you say about your brand (yourself) 2.) List 6 things other people say about your brand and 3.) List 6 things you want your brand to say 10 years from now.  When I tell you, I took this activity so SERIOUS! The words I wrote about myself, especially the words that I wrote about myself and my brand ten years from now, are hanging on my vision board for me to look at on a daily basis.  Seeing those words in writing made those goals more than real for me.  Sometimes, we have to back away from all the distractions around us, take a moment to think, and really develop a plan for our future.  Where do you want to be? What do you want to be doing? What steps are you taking to get there? When you look deep within yourself, visualize the place that you want to be in life, and the path you want to take with your future. It is absolutely amazing the things that you can accomplish.  Take a moment and make the list above, in order to go in the right direction for the upcoming year.  This year can be a year of greatness for you if you just take the time to put it all in writing.  In the words of Erykah Badu, 'Write it down on real paper with a real pencil, and watch things get real.' Do the work.

🖤🖤 Susa 🖤🖤