When you look in the mirror, what do you see. Do you see a person who was successful in the past and things are going downhill? Do you see a healthier version of yourself who is productive and financially in control? What does that person in the mirror do with his or her time daily? How does that person allocate resources to achieve his or her dreams? 

When I was a kid, I was out on the streets of Fort Worth with my mom asking people for money to buy food. We lived in a motel called the South Oaks Inn. There were rats in the walls and they would come out to scavenge every night. My mom had a severe drug addiction and I was around serious criminals all the time. These people would be in our motel room doing drugs and making deals. This was a life that I knew too well. 

One night there was a knock on the door. My brother and I took cover in the bathtub just in case there was a shooting. My mom turned out the lights and looked out the window. It was my youth minister Adam. My mom opened the door and Adam proclaimed “Tina, these kids deserved better than this!” That changed my life because I thought that the only thing that I deserved was a jail cell or to be homeless. Adam planted a seed that would influence me for life. 

I started to see myself differently. What if I deserved a good education? What if I deserved to travel and see the world? What if I deserved to marry the woman of my dreams? What if I deserved to be loved and financially independent? What if…….

The fact that I changed my self-perception made a huge impact on me. I learned to see myself as I could be as opposed to how I am. You need to do the same. We often judge what we are capable of based on events of the past and our experiences. The truth is, you deserve more and you are capable of more than your wildest dreams can imagine. 

I have lived in China for nine years and traveled to more than eight countries including North Korea. I was there a couple of minutes but it still counts! I married my best friend and we are doing ok in life financially. I am working on several books covering a wide range of topics and building a new chamber of commerce in Dallas Texas. Big things are coming in my life because of the way that I see myself when I look in the mirror. I was just a kid on the streets of Fort Worth when I was growing up and my life has demonstrated that God delivers us indeed. 

I changed who I saw in the mirror. Perhaps you, need to start seeing a different you…

Terrance Thomas