Be Bold: Create YOUR Own Path…

          I was flipping through the channels one night, and stopped on BET, and caught Monica’s conversation with songwriter/producer Dallas Austin. Monica was basically in a cross roads of her career, and was asking Dallas for advice. Dallas told Monica that she can’t go off of what the public want to hear from her, because they don’t know. She has to follow her heart, be brilliant, and give them her music that she creates, and this is when her fans will fully embrace her again. This conversation was very insightful, and made me think about many things throughout the night.

          I thought about my life, and different instances that stood out when people told me what I should and shouldn’t do. Of course there was good advice that helped me along the way, but there were also advice that could of held me back, or would have shot down some of the things I wanted to accomplish.  A couple of great people throughout history support my thoughts, that of Martin Luther King Jr, and Bill Gates. Even though these are great men, they are still normal individuals, who made a decision to create their own path.  MLK was special, because when society was telling him one thing, he looked at what was in his heart, preached non-violence, and equal rights, when he could have so easily become resentful, and preached violence. He received tons of  backlash, but he stuck to what he believed in, and because of that, he is revered as a national hero to this day.

          Bill Gates is definitely an example of creating your own path. He could have easily, graduated college, got a good job, and lived comfortably because he is a brilliant man. But instead, he followed his heart, worked hard at his dream, and became one of the wealthiest men in the world, while changing how we all look at technology today. He then found his calling as a philanthropist, changing many lives for the better, through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

          Another instance that comes to my mind was a youth that I used to mentor. His mentality is shared by some people I know today. This particular youth, came to me because he had to complete a certain amount of community service hours because he stole a car, and was running the streets with his friends. When I actually sat down and talked to him, I found that he was a caring young man, that had good intentions. He told me that he wanted to finish school, and go to college. But because his friends surrounding him were doing the opposite, he felt like he would be selling out, or be left out, if he hadn’t done the same. I lost touch with the young man, but in the month and a half that I was with him, I tried to have him understand that he had to do right by himself, and not others. I hope he followed my advice, and accomplished his goals that we discussed for him.

          Many people in society, look at the norm, and think that they have to follow what is “right”. But what is right for one person, may not be necessarily right for another. Instead, a person has to possess confidence, and a firm belief in oneself, even though it may be uncomfortable and lonely. We all have different experiences, interests, etc, which makes us all unique. Be bold YP’s, and create your own path, rather than following another!

YPJimH, Young Professionals Writer

Tagged as: Believe in Yourself, Self Improvement, Success