My moment wasn’t so much one that I made, but more a moment in my life where the moment made me.

Being the youngest of 7 children, I grew up not rich in money, but rich in family and love. Naturally, I had a tendency to be babied by everyone, learning to rely on others rather than myself.

All was well and good with my life of reliance on others without consequence until I reached the upper level of my teen years.

A few months after I turned 17 years old, I woke up on a Sunday morning in early August and by 10 a.m., my father had been struck with a myocardial infarction, passing away shortly after as the medical personnel were attempting to implant a pacemaker.

Suffice it to say that the next several years of my life were filled with sadness, frustration, loss, and insecurity.

My trajectory in life was finally course corrected when I met my wife for the first time. I know I’ve written about the change she brought in me, but the biggest thing I learned from the whole experience is that you have to believe in yourself.

You are the only one who can truly make things better inside. People can make you feel better, you can buy things that make you feel better, you can do things (in some case destructive things) that make you feel better, but the better in each of those situations is usually only temporary.

It’s so easy in life to think you’re not good enough. There’s always someone better than you are at whatever you want to succeed at. There’s always someone more deserving than you.

But there’s also a little voice in the back of your mind, whispering “why not you?”.

My problem was in believing the voice in my head, and ultimately believing in myself.

Once I realized I was worthy and that I had the skills and talent to succeed in the things that truly mattered to me, with God’s help, I began to see the tide turn.

That doesn’t mean I don’t face adversity on a regular basis. It means I don’t give up and have the resiliency to not let loss keep me down long. There is power in that process of thinking. Power to make my own personal world and the whole world as a whole a better place.

The power starts in believing.

Do you believe?