Life has a habit of throwing situations at us that leave us feeling dissatisfied with where we’re at in life. Our success is determined by how we manage to take it upon ourselves to turn these negative situations into learning experiences that actually better us as opposed to growing complacent. Look at singer/songwriter Shakira, she’s literally the definition of self-made. By the time she was 8 years old she had written her first song and by the age of 10 she had been competing in both local and national talent contests. Shakira released her first album when she was 14 years old. Her album had been successful, especially for her age. She had received wide recognition in her home country of Colombia, but the goal was to become international. In an attempt to reach these goals, she had turned her focus to her acting career, however, her heart is in the music and it wasn’t long until she went back to recording. When Shakira got back into the studio, she took control over the direction of her music. She mixed both her Colombian and Arabic backgrounds to create a beautifully blended sound on her next album which started out as a slow seller, but it eventually became number one on the charts in EIGHT different countries! She continued to take control over her music career and prosper further. However, she wasn’t satisfied with bettering her own life, but those of children all over the world. At the age of 18, she founded the Pies Descalzos (Barefoot) foundation which is currently providing education and nutrition to over six thousand less fortunate children in Colombia. In late 2011 she launched projects in Haiti and South Africa. She went from growing up in a not so privileged home, to being one of the most distinguished pop stars in the world who does everything in her power to help those who are born into situations that aren’t the greatest. Life is what you make it and if you ask me, Shakira has mastered the art of living life to the fullest.
While we go through our life journeys, many of us get caught up in our own lives that we lose sight of the struggles other people around us face. It’s important that we remember where we came from and that if we can help, we should. Ellen DeGeneres takes advantage of being a talk show host by spreading positivity to her audience in the studio and viewers at home. She recently brought awareness to anti-bullying through creating a PSA and titling it “Be Kind.” Not only that, but she’s always encouraging her viewers to stand up for what they believe in and donate to causes that touch them and if they don’t have the means to financially donate, she encourages them to actively donate their time to DO something to make a difference. Not all of us happen to have access to a talk show, such as Ellen, but we have the ability to go through our neighborhoods and put together events to bring people closer, get a group of friends and spend a day cooking meals for the homeless. Greatness comes in many forms, but I believe the most everlasting is through sharing the brightness in our hearts with those who may feel as though they’re walking through the shadows.
I’m sure that as kids, all of us heard the sayings, “Dreams do come true” and “Anything is possible, if you believe it you can achieve it.” How many of us actually apply them though? How many of us fail, but get up and try again until we succeed? Take a look at Michael Jordan for example. He tried out for the varsity basketball team his sophomore year, but standing at 5’11” he didn’t make the cuts being told he was too small to play at that level. Having both played and coached high school basketball, I’ve seen many kids who didn’t make varsity, but were unable to use it as motivation to work harder and strive for greatness. Who knew that the kid who didn’t make the varsity team would eventually become the greatest basketball player of all time? Michael Jordan showed the world that if you set goals for yourself and work hard enough to achieve them, that eventually you will do just that and even go beyond where you originally saw yourself reaching. Life is all about self-determination, if you want it go after it. Don’t let any bumps in the road stop you from reaching your destination.
