Iron

 They say you have to strike while the iron is hot. This means that when you have an opportunity to do something you have to do it before you lose your chance. It is a pretty well-known saying and a fairly good motto to live by. But wouldn’t it be better to just strike the iron until it is hot? In other words, create your own opportunities. If we keep on waiting for things to happen for us we will never get things done.

I am a naturally lucky person. I believe this because of all the great things that have happened to me and that I have been blessed enough to experience. That said I also believe that I created my own luck. We can’t sit around and wonder why nothing is happening for us. We need to do small things well in order to strike luck in the big things.

"Luck is the last dying wish of those who wanna believe that winning can happen by accident, sweat on the other hand is for those who know its a choice so decide now because destiny waits for no man. When your time comes and a thousand different voices are trying to tell you you're not ready for it listen instead to that lone voice of dissent, the one that says you are ready, you are prepared, it's all up to you now" - The Grind

A couple of months ago I created a bucket list for myself. On the list are small things that I want to do for myself and others, and big things I also want to do for myself and others. I believe both have equal weight. I put some things on the list that I have done (but not well, and it wasn’t on my list back then) to tick off again. Things like paying off my credit card, random acts of kindness, etc. Most of these will not bring lasting happiness but will show me that I am still heading in the right direction, and I'm in control.

With this list I will keep striking the iron until it is hot, all the things I have put on there might not happen soon, and the circumstances for me to do these things might never arise if I don’t create them. I am the master of my own future, no one else. Every page I write on is written in my own handwriting with my own signature at the bottom. I am thus responsible for all my actions, non-actions, mistakes and victories.

A couple of days ago Nelson Mandela passed away - the poem that he kept in his prison cell was some of the most amazing words I've ever heard... Invictus, by William Henley.

I am a work in progress. I might be raw, but I am ready. I am more ready now than I have ever been in my life, but tomorrow I will be more ready to take on tomorrow’s challenges. Stop believing in one day and make one day happen.