“Never underestimate the power of your journey.  You never know who you will inspire in the future.  Keep going,” Brett Portelli.  Everyone has moments of self-doubt or that moment when they’re not even sure if they’re moving forward in their journey.  We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves and we imagine that unless we are perfect, we can’t be an example to anyone else.  The real examples tend to come from those who learn how to manage their setbacks in a way that doesn’t look like a setback.  It’s from people who overcame the obstacle because they believed they could.  The example also comes from the people who approach their goals with such clear focus and tenacity that nothing sways them from their course.  Nothing disrupts their progress or their focus because they know the result they’re looking for.  When you have someone who is able to do both, they are unstoppable.   

The other example we need to talk about isn’t the grand determination or even the creative problem solving, nor is it the grand leaps of faith (although that is key as well).  No.  It’s the quiet journey of the every day, each small step toward the goal.  The people who relentlessly pursue what they want in spite of not seeing the result.  Once we have that fire lit inside of us, the goal is to keep it stoked so others can see it as well, so the flame can ignite in others as well.  Never believe that what we do is so small that it’s insignificant.  We never know who is watching.  And it isn’t up to us to determine what people gain from watching us.  Yes, we can have an image or an ideal we want to project, but how people interpret that and what lessons they take from us is entirely up to their perception.  We have no control over what people take from their experience of us. 

The reminder here is to not take ourselves out of the game for what we believe we are or aren’t showing.  It’s also important to remember that no matter how long it seems to be taking or how difficult or even how easy the road may seem, someone is watching.  Someone sees.  One of those someone’s may need exactly what we are going through.  We may need to be an inspiration to ourselves and remember that we’ve gotten through things before.  Just because we aren’t seeing immediate gratification or the results we think we want doesn’t mean that someone won’t see it.