You hear people say, “I don’t want to talk about my past.” Excuse me! Your past made you who you are today. If I didn’t have a past, then I wouldn’t be a Speaker, Author and Writer. All my speaking engagements and my books hold pieces of my past. So why would I ignore my past.
When you go down memory lane and see the old buildings and the old dreams that you used to have, isn’t it amazing to look back to where you came from? My past is the thing that helped me create my present. Without dreams and goals that required me to think beyond my current situation, I would still be living where I used to live. I’d be in that small one stop-light town, with no college degree, and several children out of wedlock. I wouldn’t be able to encourage others to reach their highest potential, by moving beyond their circumstances and seeing themselves inside their dreams. My past made me a strong woman and a survivor of many challenging situations. As a pregnant teenager at age sixteen, my past created a beautiful young lady who graces this world with dignity and style. That experience taught me how to take care of someone other than myself, while reaching for higher heights to make sure that she never felt the lack that I did as a child. Although there is no training for raising children, the first gave me experience for the second child. At age thirty-two I was better equipped emotionally, physically, and financially to handle my business. That’s because my past had taught me well. As you consider where you are headed in life and career, be sure to look back at what worked and what did not work in the past. Those are good barometers to help determine your next course of action. If it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it, however if there is room for improvement, then by all means improve. Your past is a good thing if you use it to propel you forward. Don’t pass up the past!