Even if you are incredibly flawed, you can still succeed and even reach great heights. You just need to be one thing: Dogged. Look at Vincent Van Gogh. For much of his life he felt like a failure, and you might be feeling like you can’t do anything right, let alone anything good. But you…More
Author Archives: jlexpa
You can overcome your doubt
Doubt is a weed that grows in the gardens of our minds. It can choke our dreams and kill our hopes. And the words “I can’t” start to infiltrate our thoughts. But doubt is a weed, not the flower, nor fruit. That’s the truth, and we the gardener. So tend your mind, care for it,…More
One of the best things you can do to create
Sometimes to make creative work, the thing we need most is this. Rest. You’re at your desk, sweating (metaphorically) and pounding away (literally) trying to get a good idea, but the only thing you produce is nothing. “Maybe I just need to work harder,” you might say to yourself. And still, nothing happens. So you…More
Today is the most important day you have
Today is the most important moment in your life. It is. The past can’t be changed; the future is unknowable. But the present is different. You can do something here. You can act upon it, begin to change your life, draft the first paragraph of that book you always wanted to write, start a new…More
Her naked voice will make you feel
She opened her mouth and sang, her naked voice pure and beautiful made the air ache. It was a Kurdish song with Kurdish words that I didn’t understand but I could feel itsmeaning, echoing, as it resonated through my body and pierced my soul. It was haunting— hauntingly beautiful. It wasn’t a scream; it wasn’t…More
One of the most surprising things about love
Love cannot be forced. It can only be found, discovered, like a jewel unearthed. You may feel unlovable. You may feel unloved. But, love is there, waiting–waiting for you–longing to embrace you as much as you long to be embraced. Wait for it. Often, it finds us when we least expect it. When we stop…More
Sometimes surviving is the best you should do
Some days just suck and feel like hell. That’s when the best thing you can do is survive. It’s when you want to throw up your hands and just give in and quit that you need to know this. Sometimes surviving is good enough. When everything seems to go wrong, and you feel like a…More
One of the most powerful ways to overcome your fear
Fear can grip us powerfully, but we can overcome it and soar. It’s the dread we feel even when everything is going well. It’s the shiver that goes down our spine when we just landed our dream job, found a person we love, gave birth to our first child. When we should be celebrating and…More
One of the best words to use when you feel bad
“Again” is a common word, but for those who’ve failed, been rejected, feel ashamed, it’s incredibly powerful. It means you get to start afresh; you get to find new love or rekindle an old one after feeling unlovable; you get to do that thing you never thought you would be able to do after failing…More
This is the best way to see your story
The story of your life is unfolding right now, at this very moment. Choose what you will do today, how you will invest your time, what you will learn, how you will grow, who you will be. The pen is in your hand; the ink is flowing. Tell your story. Tell it the way you…More
John Pa 