Chapter ONE ( I Challenge You!)

I have always had the urge to make an impact in peoples lives as far back as I can remember whether it being simply making someone smile when they are going thru a rough time or helping someone change their life entirely. When I was younger, I was always participating in mission trips from building porches for people all the way to just running a summer camp for kids that did not really have the resources in their community to do so. I remember seeing the emotions that people would express when we were able to help them out and it always found a spot in my soul that just felt so great. I also loved hearing their stories of how much their life has changed from the past to the present, not all stories that I was told were always a successful story, some of them were stories about how they use to be in a better situation in life and what they were going thru now was a rock bottom. Other ones were successful stories about how they used to be in a rock bottom situation compared to where they were in life presently, it was better and that they were continuing to strive to better their life in the future. Either way I loved hearing both sides of the spectrum because it really gave me an insight into what they were wanting in life. It always amazed me to see the looks on kids faces of the summer camps that we would provide to them because to me growing up a simple game of tag or soccer was just a normal thing for my friends and I. But to the kids at the camp, it was like the first time they have ever played it and was always a fun experience to share with the families. As I got older, I took part in a nonprofit organization with the goal of ending hunger around the world. It was called the 30hr famine, what made this fun and different compared to other organizations I had worked with, was the fact that they would challenge you to literally go 30hrs with out eating as you raised money for the cause. It was always an interesting experience out of the 4 years that I participated, when I would go around and raise awareness explaining to people that I was going 30hrs with out food. As soon as I would tell them I am not eating for 30hrs it would immediately draw them in, and they would start asking questions and I was able to raise awareness and take donations. The beginning of the fast was always easy but as it came into the last couple hours it was challenging. I remember just going about my normal day at school and what not and then coming how and like almost every middle school or high school boy just wanting to eat everything in the house that I could get my hands on because, well simply that is just what we do. The challenge was not always necessarily a physical challenge of being fatigued or hungry. A lot of it was mental, being in the society that I am in, food was literally a reach away. Having to hold myself accountable was challenging at times but extremely rewarding at the end. Sometimes the things we go thru in life we may not see the lessons it will teach us in the moment but looking back at situations its utterly amazing what we can take from it. The walk of life from my experiences thus far has showed and taught me that the mentality of things is a huge part of what the outcome may be. Now I do understand that there are many things that come up in life that are entirely out of your control and will blind side you. But going back to what I just said, the way you mentally respond to the situation will have a huge impact on the result of whatever it is that is happening. So next time something in your life challenging comes up or blind sides you I challenge you to hold yourself accountable and mentally accept what is and determine what it is that you need to do to create the best possible outcome for yourself. Remember that it is YOUR OWN STORY, so do what has to be done and do not wait for others to do it for you. If you constantly rely on others to do things it will only upset you, because it is not the outcome you had in your head. Wake up everyday with the mentality that you are taking control of your life and the decisions that are made in it, continue to push yourself towards your dreams and goals, be sure to simply help those who are knocked down along the way. This is my challenge to you! Please feel free to tell me about something that happen to you and how you positively responded to it. Or share with me how you have helped someone along the way even a small gesture thru out your day. Thanks again YOS fam and talk to you all soon. Stay motivated, dedicated, and consistent and great things are going to happen to you!