5 Lessons That Changed My Life

I wasn't always this awesome.

I mean I was always awesome. Just not as awesome as I am today.

I didn't live a terrible life.  I grew up in the public school system in the suburbs of New York State.

My parents are still together to this day.

And except for maybe the very early parts of my childhood, we never really had to struggle.

But like probably many kids, life was its own version of awkward for me.

A shy, first generation Philipino-American trying to find my place in the world.
Trying to find my purpose.
Trying to make a name for myself.

By the time I was 23, life was very different from "traditional".

I had my first child at 19, married that same year.
I dropped out of college after 3 semesters.
Working at a bar till 5am and sleeping until 2pm didn't help.
Neither did the whirlwind of drugs and alcohol that accompany the bar scene.
You work 4 nights a week behind a bar for cash tips.  Then spend the other 3 nights on the other side of the bar donating those tips right back.
(And on the nights you do work, it's usually shift drinks until daybreak)

I tend to think of those years as the low point of my life.
But to be honest, it was fun while it lasted.
It was also an easy way to get trapped in a world that looks appealing from the outside, but soul-sucking on the inside.

I've turned things around since then.

I've since spent the following 5 years in business for myself, in an unending journey to be the best possible version of myself each and every day.

So I'd like to share with you 5 lessons that changed my life.  As you'll notice, I take a lot of these lessons from books as I'm a huge book worm.  So I highly recommend you checking them out yourself.

1. The Compound Effect.  Right around the time I was at my lowest, I picked up and read a book called "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson.  That book literally changed my life.  It was based on the simple premise that by doing simple acts daily, compounded over days and weeks and months and years, depending on the actions, could either take you on a downward spiral in life or turn you into a phenomenal success. I decided right then to start cutting out negative habits and start building positive ones into my life.  Many of which I carry on to this day.

2. The Power Of Choice.  The next "ah-ha" that clicked with me was after reading "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey.  As one of the habits, he states that we as humans don't have to just accept anything in life that happens to us.  But that we have a choice as to how we react to those events.  And if we can choose how we react, we can change the outcome.  Instead of getting angry every time you hit rush hour traffic, you could choose to get excited that you get to listen to more music on the way to work!

3. 100% Responsibility.  This was a tough pill to swallow, but my life was changed for the better the day I decided to take 100% responsibility for everything in my life.  Instead of blaming others for things that happened to me, or complaining that things weren't going my way, or allowing life to happen to me, I could take 100% responsibility for my thoughts, my words, my actions, my reactions, my choices, the people I surround myself with, and create the life of my dreams, instead of allowing life to push me around.

4. The Law of Attraction.  Another life changing book for me was "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne.  It talks about the Law of Attraction, and how we unconsciously attract what we think of most.  Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish reality from perception, so by creating an image in your mind of essentially your ideal life, you send out vibrations into the universe that attract exactly what you're looking for.  So start today envisioning your ideal day, your ideal life, and watch as opportunities start flowing in that allow that life to take shape.

5. Gratitude.  When I stopped thinking about all the things in life that I don't have, and focused on being grateful for all the things in life that I do have, my life changed.  Suddenly, instead of living a life of never enough, my eyes opened up and I started living a life of more than enough. A life of abundance. A life of gratitude.  So if you haven't yet, just be grateful that you woke up today. That you're alive.

I hope this helps! Don't forget to Like, Comment, and Share below!

Mark Lopez blogs about leadership and personal development in order to strengthen his own leadership skills.  As a Christian, father, husband, and CEO of his own life, Mark looks to empower others so they can lead lives of success, happiness, and personal fulfillment.  To learn more about how Mark can help you live on purpose, e-mail him at thatninjamark@yahoo.com or follow him onFacebook.