A friend of mine once told me that when he was a kid he always wanted to do the washing-up after a meal, his mum would always stop him and told him that he wasn’t supposed to do that and just let their maid do the work.

His mum is running a successful chemical factory in China now. Her mum’s motive was to give him a lesson of self-esteem and let him know his self-worth with no intention of degrading the job of a maid.

I just thought of this story lately.  I have seen people who suffer from low self-esteem. As a result of their self-esteem, they are too afraid to demand for the salary they deserve at work and undercharge their customers for the service they provide. They are also afraid of achieving bigger goals. They think that they will never be able to achieve success. Low self-esteem can sabotage a person’s life and stop us from living up to our full potential.

Thinking of this story reminds me to think, act, be the person I want to be now, not latter. It reminds me again to work as hard as the person I want to be does now, to travel as often as the person I want to be does now, to take as good care of my health as the person I want to be does now, feel as good and deserving as the person I want to be does now, and act and think like the successful person I want to be now, not later. If I don’t do it now, when and how can I be the person I want to be in the future?

Probably, many may disagree with some of the points I have raised here. But feel free to share your opinion. We can learn from each other through discussion.

Lingering at the foot of the gigantic mountain of destiny

and getting daunted by the meandering roads uphill,

but my soul has been beckoning me to climb the mountain,

even though the mountain is so high that it scrapes the sky,

even though the peak penetrating the sky seems so unreachable,

even though I can’t see the roads ahead clearly.

I just want to take the first step

and keep moving forward one step at a time.

Yeah, there will be pythons, tigers, storms, and landslides,

but I will rise above as long as I am true to my soul,

as long as I hold tight to my faith.

Unleashing the fighter in me,

I just want to stride forward

and dance gracefully in the sublime views along the way.

There are no obstacles I can’t bust through.

I may fall.

But I will always stand up, shake off the dirt,

and move forward like a giant that I was born to be.

Someday, I will be surprised to see how far I have gone.

I know, because I have made it through the wilderness more than once.

Faith can move mountain.

Destiny will choose me.

• The crown in the image is from Clipart Sheep.