“STOP HOLDING YOURSELF BACK“.
This is one of the most important lessons I have learned.
A few months ago, I released this newsletter dubbed “STOP HOLDING YOURSELF BACK“.
I recently re-read it and found it to be more useful than I had originally thought.
I am sharing it with you again. Re-read it.
If you are not living the life you want, it’s YOUR FAULT
Not your family.
Not your upbringing
Not the government.
Not the economy. YOURS!
Let me tell you a story of someone who did not hold themselves back.
Malala Yousafzai.
Malala is a Pakistani activist who advocated for female education, especially in her home country where the Taliban had banned girls from attending school. Despite the danger, Malala spoke out publicly about the importance of education for all. In 2012, she was tragically shot by the Taliban for her activism but survived and became a global symbol for girls' education.
Malala did not let fear or threats silence her voice. She continued her fight for education, co-founding the Malala Fund and becoming the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate at 17. Her story is a powerful example of courage, perseverance, and the impact one person can have when they refuse to be held back.
Here’s what you need to know.
Malala did not HAVE to risk her life for this cause. She could simply have decided to stay silent and get in line. But she refused to hold herself back because she believed that she had a greater cause to pursue.
She had potential, and took things into her own hands, to unlock that potential.
More often than you want to admit, you hold yourself back.
You prevent yourself from reaching your true potential.
You give yourself reasons why you cannot succeed.
You rationalize yourself into failure, sometimes unconsciously.
“I’m not intelligent enough. I’m not good-looking enough. “ Bla bla bla
STOP HOLDING YOURSELF BACK.
Just like Malala, you can only realize your true potential when you intentionally decide to not hold yourself back.
To defeat the voice in your head telling you that you are not enough. That you are inadequate.
I invite you to make a promise to me today.
Regardless of how many odds are stacked against you, DO NOT HOLD YOURSELF BACK.
But this starts with taking intentional steps towards unlocking your true potential and making the necessary sacrifices that come with this.
While recording the launching episode of the Open Dreams Podcast with Buma Blaise, cofounder of Open Dreams, he made a statement that has stuck with me ever since.
To paraphrase: “The limitations that exist are the ones we place on ourselves. The ones we develop in our mind. Ideally, there are no limitations”.
Embrace a growth mindset, with a steady focus on improving your knowledge and skills.
Challenge negative self-talk holding you back.
Challenge yourself every day.
Book Recommendation: Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.
A photo of me speaking at a recent Creators Conference in Cameroon.
So, stop not holding yourself back!
START NOW
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