Encouarge Yourself

Encouragement – Pass It On

By Chris L. Gilrath, II

Think about these things? What if Barrack Obama listened to everyone who said, “Being President is hard work. You should not do it.” What if someone told Oprah Winfrey that poor little black girls from the south could never be a television reporter or be on television? What if Tyler Perry listened to the people around him and told him that because of his past his future would be forever tarnished? The message is simple. If these people listened to the haters or negative people in their lives, we would not have 1. The FIRST African-American president of the United States 2. The most powerful person in all of media, 3.The first African-American to own his own movie company.

When you think of someone who comes to you and says that want to be a basketball star, actor, or poet. Think of what your response can do to that person. Think about it. You could be discouraging the next Michael Jordan, Denzel Washington, and Maya Angelou. Often times if is not a 9-5 job, we like to tare down people and say it could never be done. We say things such as “Do you know how many basketball players there are out there?” or “Oh that is such a hard industry to crack into.” Yes, this is true. Are these reasons to not try? No of course not.  A lot of times, people need encouragement from others. Often times, people do not share their dreams out loud because of the excessive reasoning they get from their parents, friends, or other people.

Of course it takes talent and potential to be able to have something to work with. You have to be able to sing to aspire to be a singer. You have to have basketball skills to be able to take it to the next level. However, think about Michael Jordan. He did not start off as the a great basketball player, he had to really work and work at it. How far do you think he would have gotten if he did not have support and encouragement.

Encourage Yourself:

I think a lot of people are happier if you are miserable like they are. If you are not working a 9-5 40 hour per week job in which you come home miserable, you are a “lazy bum”. I think of my pursuits as a writer, screenwriter and motivational speaker. I think about all the time I have invested in working different jobs: banking, retail, education, and customer service. With the exception of education, all of the other jobs made me miserable. I did not like talking on the phone with angry, grouchy customers about their overdraft accounts. That was simply not my bag. Yes, it paid the bills but I was simply miserable. It was not bringing me fulfillment. I taught for a few years, and enjoyed it. However, circumstances came along and took me from teaching, no matter how hard I fought to stay in it. I was angry that I was not teaching but I believe God spoke to me and said “I never said you would be doing this forever.” It was only for a season to prepare you for your next blessing.” It was hard for me to come to this realization. Yet I have. I am grateful for what God has called me to do. He has given me the gift of writing. Sure, not everybody understands what I am doing. I can think particularly to one person in which I shared my pursuits and some of the progress that I had made with the book that I was writing. The person then responded by saying,  “Have you found a job yet.” No encouragement or praise for the good works that I was doing. It was then I realized that not everyone was going to be on board with what I was doing. Again, if it is not a 9-5 job or something that could be explained through excessive reasoning, then it made no sense. I can understand the concern. I understand the fear. Some of the things asked of me were things that I asked myself. Of course. I understand.

However, I think to what I know. I think of all the time, talent, and work that God has invested in me. He would not call me to write if he did not have a great work in store for me.

To all of you who have a dream that does not involve a 9-5. I am not saying quit your job tomorrow and be broke or not have a game plan. What I am saying is that take some time to invest in what you are doing. Really think about it. If you are in a job that makes you miserable, why stay? Life is too short not to do what makes you happy. If you are working in collection agency and you have dreams of being a doctor. Take steps to be a doctor. Do what you have to do to make that happen. 

Encourage yourself. If you have a dream or a goal, do it. If God has birthed a vision in you, do not ignore it by excessive reasoning and logic. If God has a plan for you to do it, there is nothing that man can do to tare it down.