Well, well' well… look at you. I am so happy to see you decided to take the RED PILL. Now we're going to find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes. I know you just started chapter two and you're probably very curious and somewhat anxious to see what's next… but I need you to do me a favor; it might seem a little silly but humor me. I need you to find a mirror and stand in front of it. It's okay, I'll wait. You can take the book with you. Now that you're there, look at yourself for about four to five minutes. When you're finished with what you think is four to five minutes, pick up the book and continue with this chapter. Welcome back. Most of us have an extremely hard time standing and staring at ourselves in this piece of reflective glass. As young children, we look into and played in mirrors with an innocence, not judging ourselves, not worried about how we look, not ever thinking this piece of reflective glass that can't utter one word, would become our judge, jury and in some cases executioner. For some of us looking into a mirror every day is like a slow but sure death because of what we think we see. Montel Williams has been my main client for the last twenty years and I'm honored to say a trusted friend. He has a quote he uses when he's speaking that I have admired for years and it goes, "The tragedy of man, is what dies inside him every day that he or she lives." If you're superstitious, you should go ahead and break the mirror now and let what you think is fate, or nature take its course. I would hope that you keep reading. This tragedy happens through adolescence, the teenage years and then into full adulthood. All the baggage we collect and bring to the mirror with us every day, has us living our lives according to "what we believe we see and not what we once believed we could be." As young children we are fearless because we don't know we can't be. Then one day pieces of us start to die because someone; a parent, a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a classmate, a teacher, or even a stranger says one or two words that change the direction in your life, for what you "THOUGHT" would be forever.
This chapter is called "Look in the Mirror" for one reason and one reason only. I want you to look at yourself… IN THE MIRROR! Not just your face, but I want you to look into your eyes and don't turn away. I need you to be honest! When I asked you to look in the mirror for that four to five minutes, did you even look into your eyes? Most people can't or won't do that! I know it sounds crazy, but a large percentage of the population, don't really look at themselves in the mirror. When most of us do look at ourselves in the mirror, we don't look into our eyes. We look at the superficial parts of ourselves: our hair, our skin, a beard, our ears, etc., but we almost never look into our own eyes. Could it be we are afraid of what we may see? I sure was! The late, great Michael Jackson has a song called "MAN IN THE MIRROR." Several years ago, I don't remember exactly when, I began listening to it at least once a day, every day. Every morning while I'm in the gym it's the first song I play to begin my workout. I believe this song opens up my mind to the fact that "each day I'm allowed a new beginning to create a better me." My spirit, mind and body are realigned to work as a single unit so that I can achieve success. The beginning of the song goes… "I'm gonna make a change for once in my life. It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right." These lyrics hit my heart one day and opened my eyes to seeing my world differently. My mind set every day is maintaining my FOCUS to make a difference in my life and the lives of the people I meet. More specifically I've learned to pay attention to the world around me because it's really easy to get lost in our own lives. The mirror can be a scary place for some of us because of our own internal reality. We could be afraid to exercise the demons so to speak, living inside us. Trust me we all have them. These demons have lived inside some of us for too many years now. They have forced us to live our lives like they are not our own. We have given our existence away, like it was for sale to the highest bidder… fear has become our ruler. We have become so good at manufacturing fear, it forces us to live in a constant state of confusion and self-doubt. One of the things that really scares me is, because we accept this way of life, we pass it on to our loved ones our husbands, wives, co-workers and even our children. You do have a choice and you can choose to live your life in the positive. CHANGE has to become your life's new vision, because change is coming. The quote at the beginning of this chapter, "It's not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." Your daily look in the mirror is there to help you Focus Forward, giving you a chance for a better outlook for your future. A true key to the mirror's importance is "YOU" being receptive and responsive to change. As you continue to read this book your opinion of yourself is going to change.