Time to be brave!

Do you remember being a kid and slipping your tiny feet into your parents’ or grandparents’ oversized boots? Maybe you even climbed halfway into them, wobbling around the house as if you were suddenly older, stronger, or wiser. Back then, it felt fun to imitate the people we admired. We copied their steps, their gestures, even their confidence.

Fast forward to adulthood. You land a job once held by someone who seemed like a superstar, and suddenly you hear the phrase: “You have big shoes to fill.” But do we ever actually fill someone else’s shoes? Or do we simply try, fail, adjust, and quietly carve out a new path that feels more like our own?

I thought about this deeply as I stared at an oversized chair on my drive home the other day. A literal giant’s chair—impossible for any one person to fill. And it made me pause. How many of us are still trying to squeeze ourselves into a role, an expectation, or a legacy created by someone impossible to duplicate?

The truth is, some “shoes” just aren’t meant to be filled by a single person. Just like that giant chair, you’d need help, support, and teamwork even to get close. Life is a group effort. We grow because of the people who guide us, correct us, support us, and sometimes even challenge us.

So if you’ve been trying to live up to someone else’s greatness, remember this: you’re not here to be a copy. You’re here to contribute something new. Their journey was theirs. Yours is yours. Don’t be afraid to step off the path you’re trying to imitate and begin walking in your own direction—one that reflects your strengths, your story, and your style.

Because the world doesn’t need another version of them.

It needs the first, real, and brave version of you.

Voila! Ta da! Those are just a few exclamatory words to say, “There it is” or “Look what I have made”. Something you are showing to others that you are pleased with. You don’t think of that word as it relates to what you are creating because that would seem braggadocious right? You can spend years with an idea bubbling up inside of you and never letting it out, or you can take steps towards creating that life that you have always dreamed of. Whether it be starting a new career or business, or writing a book or creating something crafty. You owe it to yourself to release those ideas bubbling up inside of you. Don’t waste your God given talent because you are worried what others will think of it. Release it into the world so that everyone can appreciate it! This is your moment to say “Voila”!!

You have had the power all along to do whatever you set your mind to. You have the tools, the skills, the creativity, the knowledge all within you to be exactly what you want to be. Look inside yourself and use that power to create the life you have always dreamed of. You’ve got this!

Do you ever find yourself in the company of other people that are never satisfied or they complain about everything. Those people are “Glass Half Empty” kind of people. Nothing is ever good enough and their attitude tends to be more negative than positive. Don’t let those “Negative Nancy’s ” get you down. You have the innate ability inside of you to make a choice to see things with “Glass Half Full” eyes. If you are falling into that negative category, it is not too late to pull yourself out of it. Get that positive mindset that no matter what is going on in your life, you are going to find the silver lining. Find at least one positive thing about any situation and go from there. Each positive moment will build on itself, and pretty soon you will find that being positive becomes more natural. I challenge you today to “Be the Change you Wish to See in the World”(Mahatma Gandhi).

It’s important that you hone in on the skill of trusting yourself and your gut instincts. That small voice in the back of your head that tells you not to do something. Listen to your intuition and trust that it would not misguide or mislead you. It takes practice and repetition, and seeing the proof in what happens when you don’t listen to your gut. I invite you today to begin practicing the art of trusting yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Have you ever felt like you were being swept along life’s river at a fast pace, trying to resist the current? Have you ever felt the tide dragging you down? In those alarming moments, what were your thoughts? How were you going to escape the current and avoid drowning? Life, like a river, can overwhelm you and sometimes make you feel like you are being pulled in directions you don’t want to go. It can even make you feel like you are about to drown. When that’s happening, simply take a deep breath (don’t hold your breath, that’s different) and float. When you are in a relaxed position, you are more likely to go with the flow instead of fighting a current that is taking you in another direction.