It’s easy to let the world tell us what we are capable of and what we should be doing.

Majority of us are generally conditioned only to pursue matters that make acceptable amounts of money while our souls slowly deteriorate after every choice we make. And when we finally do take the time to pursue our deepest desires, we may fail at first and then get berated by a society that is supposed to encourage us instead of bringing us down. Our past follows us around like a shadow, reminding us of our so-called “inadequacies.”

But these inadequacies are falsely labeled! Falling short of a goal should not be met with permanent shame. Rather, it should be met with imagination, reassurance, and optimism. But that’s not something we teach much today. We let the biases and expectations of other people mold us into versions of ourselves we don’t actually love. And once we are unable to love ourselves, we are unable to live life safely and happily.

Fortunately, we deserve to be happy, and we deserve to love ourselves. We deserve to know that we can make our dreams come true, no matter what they are. Don’t let the haters fool you. Everyone has something they dream of doing, becoming, or attaining. Some people dream of ridding themselves of destructive addictions and habits. Some dream of finally taking their health seriously and getting into the best shape of their life. Others dream of starting their own business and using their ideas to bring smiles to the faces of their customers. Still, others wish to travel and see the beauty of planet Earth and the awe-inspiring sights of humanity’s greatest cities. And some simply wish to find love and start a family, to give selflessly to those they care about. Even if these dreams seem typical, they are important for someone, and not everyone is blessed with the luck to attain them without effort.

If everything I just listed was easy to obtain, I believe the people of this planet would be in a much happier state than they are right now.

They are not.

Nevertheless, we must stay optimistic and tell ourselves that such goals are, in fact, our dreams, for it is easier to fight for a dream than something we label an “accomplishment.” Either way, we must change ourselves to achieve them. We can’t let others or failures from our past convince us that we aren’t good enough. We have to visualize that we are capable of changing, that we can become the main characters of our own success stories, and overcome the obstacles we used to believe were insurmountable. We must tell ourselves it is time to change now before we forever lose the will to live genuinely. Visualize your potential and face your fears. No matter how long it takes, I promise you that the journey will be worth it in the end. All you have to do is be true to yourself and take the first step.

Standing in front of the mirror, I can see who I am now. I am a new version of myself that is in constant flux with how the world perceives me and how I perceive myself.

Trying to meet the expectations of others is a recipe for failure. The only visualization of myself I need is the one I hold dear, deep down inside me. This visualization does not require a mirror; a mirror only casts a reflection – nothing more than the opinions of others who have shaped me into what I do not want to be. Although some of those opinions were helpful, I must be fair and shed them all. It is time to open myself up to the idea that I am capable of changing, capable of becoming happy, healthy, and fulfilled without any outside props. I must be realistic in my approach but also filled with imagination to fuel my inner dreamer. I smile at the praise from friends, family, and peers and head toward new beginnings with vigor. I smile at the criticisms from others, myself, and my enemies, for I accept the challenge of proving them all wrong. Let me use this conscious mind to its fullest potential. Let me become whom I am destined to be.

The universe will bless you with enough money to survive life’s trials and enough time to master your craft. All you need to do is start.

I know that may sound ridiculous, for I don’t know the extent of people’s financial struggles or time management skills. However, I can tell you that by putting your well-being first and following your heart to do what you love, you will ultimately find the correct time and money you need to aid you in your journey. “Correct” may seem like an ambiguous term for such a serious matter, but let us be intentionally vague for the moment and assume that it means enough money to pay the bills and secure resources to live (e.g., food and shelter), enough time to unwind in a healthy manner (e.g. take up hobbies or go on vacation), with enough left over to pursue your passions and dreams (e.g. more substantial goals). You may have to work a job you don’t like, cut spending on things you enjoy, or change your diet to get your body and mind back to a desired level. Sounds exhausting, right? You might be thinking, “Is he crazy? This doesn’t sound enjoyable at all! I just want to follow my dreams, not go on a diet or cut my spending or work at a job I detest.”

And yet that’s what it may take and likely what brought you to pick this book up in the first place. Like the need to engage in things we don’t like the thought of in order to get to the things we want, this book does the same. No one ever said that living your best life would come easily; achieving your dreams takes hard work. That feeling of exhaustion I mentioned above may sound dreadful, but the rewards will be worth it. The journey of finally changing your life, of seeing and feeling the results, is incomparable to any other.

Moreover, my activities and routines aren’t grandiose or divine answers to life’s unsolvable mysteries. They just happen to plague the minds of the average person in the 21st century when left undone and unattended. Why do you want more money? Why do you want to be in better shape? Why do you want to stop using technology to fill the void in your soul? Why do you want to build more genuine relationships with others?

I will tell you why: Because you are a dreamer. Or, more simply, because you are human.

We just forget these things after letting the world beat us down for so long. I do not care how impossible you may think your dreams are to achieve. They are not; you are the only one who can make them happen. You want to be able to count on yourself when life gets difficult, right? You want your loved ones to count on you to be there, right? There is a version of yourself in your loved one’s mind that sees you as the best version of yourself. There is also a version of your best self in your mind that you know you can achieve. So don’t let your inhibitions get in the way. Don’t let a couple of instances from your past plague your self-visualization and make you lose faith in your ability to achieve. You are capable of becoming the change that you visualize. You are capable of chasing and attaining your dreams. I may have to say that a million times for people to understand it to its fullest extent. And if they don’t? I may have to find another way to say it a million more times!

You should be proud – even ecstatic – that you have figured out how capable you truly are. Embrace your new perspective and intuition. Entertain, enlighten, and educate yourself. We are all here for a purpose — it is grand to us, no matter how big or small it may seem to others.

It is pretty overwhelming to realize the importance of visualization: how we feel, sense, and interpret the world around us and inside us. For years, I let my addictions and bad habits ravage my self-perception and the health of my body and mind. The shame from failure and hate piled up until I could barely breathe, barely see. Desperate for a way out, I finally got tired of the tears I shed, the mask I wore, and the excuses I uttered. Through determination, discipline, and gratitude, I realized my purpose: to heal myself and share what I learned with others. Now I am here to say, “Until my last breath, I promise to use everything I have to help this dying world.” I wish to help people understand themselves and the world around them, not from a scientific or political point of view but a psychological and philosophical one, with an emphasis on preventing the opinions of others from ruining your life.

The critic inside always tells us we are not meant to succeed and that we should just give up and choose a life filled with safety and comfort. Comfort only gets us so far, however. Years will pass, and we end up feeling empty inside.

By comparison, a dreamer’s mind is dazzled with inspiration and energy. How to use this power is where we tend to fall short. Sometimes we don’t know where to start or how to keep rolling once we take our first step. And once this happens, we often shut down and retreat to the safe corner we’ve made a home of. Sometimes you have to tell yourself, “If the world won’t cut me a break, I will break my perception of the world instead.” Start over! As long as you are alive, there isn’t a single “absolute” that can keep you from changing and rearranging your perception of yourself and reality. Find a new angle and believe in yourself.

Don’t get held up at the starting line because you fear what the critics will yell as you take your first step. Don’t let these so-called hindrances or enemies of visualization get in the way. Just go and never look back. Be brave for your own sake and not for those who may themselves be fake. Be you. If they want to disapprove as you leave the beaten path, so be it. Be peaceful in your response. Be cool, calm, and collected. Stay centered. And above all, be happy and grateful.

In this age of “too much” information, we use technology as a way to make our lives easier. But this newfound efficiency comes with a cost because we end up signing over little pieces of our authenticity to make the rote experiences of everyday life – shopping, dining, chatting – more accessible. With this trade, we find ourselves alone. We may be in contact with the world digitally, but in reality, we feel stranded. You can watch only so many inspirational videos before you tell yourself, “I have no idea how to start being a better person.” We won’t find all of our answers by watching other people live. We have to experience the world directly through our sensations while drawing inspiration from those who have succeeded.

By no means am I downplaying the positivity and validity of some of what we find on the internet. I am merely saying that we need to use it differently. The infatuation we feel watching people live their best lives is our experience of vicariously believing that we can have that same success or feel those feelings. But there are few instruction manuals to help us apply the information we receive from the internet. Instead, we spend hours upon hours watching life happen, only to be left broken at the end of the day because we didn’t use our time to make any real progress. We have to remind ourselves to put our phones down and turn our televisions off to free ourselves from their demands and make room for our inspiration. Unplug yourself, re-evaluate what needs to be done, then head toward it full force.

You may lose everything you hold dear because the universe is trying to remind you that you still have yourself.

You are not hopeless. You have the ability to visualize a better tomorrow.

Sure, life may feel full. You may be gaining new skills, new relationships, and new outlooks on life because you diligently put in the work and reap the benefits of the seeds you have planted. How you react to setbacks, enjoy small victories, or bring depth and honesty to your relationships are important. Still, these progressions are only analogous to the true magnitude of your journey. They are not in and of themselves the accumulation of knowledge, perseverance, and wisdom. Those particular checkpoints are internal to who you are – the uniqueness that is you, the reflections felt and seen through the expressions on your face, the power of your soul and presence mirrored through your eyes. You may be standing next to your fancy new car, but only the shallow will marvel at it instead of the glow you have cultivated from years of determination. So work hard and reward yourself but don’t lose sight of your pure and simple essence. Being genuine in this way is often overlooked in a world where everyone wears a mask and is playing some part. So, smile big with the spirit you were born with.

Deep down, I have never doubted or feared my ability to be and stay creative or my ability to humbly accept that I needed help in adjusting my visualization of mental and physical well-being. At one point, though, I was terrified that my creativity, intuitions, and drive to be a better person were being dulled and replaced by my substance abuse and overuse of technology. Now that I am sober and in control of my devices, I can honestly say there is not a doubtful cell in my body or any part of my soul that feels I am running out of time to complete my dreams and ambitions. In fact, I am overwhelmed by how much I love all of my hobbies and healthy routines while struggling to find time to do them all. I am also excited about wanting to share my newfound enthusiasm with others so they can find solace and progression in their lives as well!

My life without substances was usually organized and well-planned, but I was not so structured during my abuse phase. Looking back, this unorganized attempt at living helps explain why I was unable to accomplish what I wanted to do. Before my addiction to drugs and technology, I used structure to help with schoolwork and my part-time job, and I lacked the structure to start writing poetry. During my addictive phase, I lost the ability to balance structure and creativity, trying to force one onto the other. You cannot put a schedule on creativity or motivation. You cannot decide when it comes and goes or when to work on this or work on that. You need to be flexible, so when those creative urges arrive, you’ll be ready to create at the highest, most beautiful level. Life is too short to give up on the things you want to accomplish. Just remember that there is a time and a place for everything, and create a space in your life for all of it.

I want to save this world, so the ones who aren’t here yet can experience the joys in life: the smiles, the smells, the sensations.

I am so excited to be alive that I can’t bear the thought of not being able to feel like this! How boring would it be not to live? We take our time on this planet for granted and fill our life with numbing agents and bad habits. We owe it to the ones still to come and the ones who have passed to give true “personal change” the effort it deserves. The planet cannot handle our voracious consumerism forever. We can only blame each other for so long until we reach a point where we have to band together. But before we take that on, we may want to ask ourselves, “Am I ready?” And the answer is, Of course, you are! There are too many people to prove wrong to give up now.

I am certainly not the only one who wants to give people hope. We need more heroes for those who don’t have the heart to follow their wildest dreams—heroes who remind people that they don’t have to worry any longer. No matter how cliched, cheesy, or naive it may sound, I will be there for them. We will be there for them, show others that you need not be a slave to the nastiness in this world. You can master positivity, ingenuity, and authenticity. Shed the skin of your old self. Cast aside the cocoon that shielded you from the world so you can burst forth into beauty not seen before. Keep saying that you are ready, and it will get easier to get your body and life moving in the right direction. This relentless and outspoken series of personal reflections was written solely to help those finally ready to change their lives.

Another hindrance to visualization is forgetfulness. We forget how truly talented we are.

The mundane activities we do to survive dull the light that shines. Then, over time, we forget why we lost faith in our lives in a slow, steady process that buries the answers alongside the questions we used to ask so intently. We failed a couple of times and accepted what the world told us was true and right. We forget why we cry at night. We forget why we have to live a life that is actually a lie. The world that feeds us technology and media want to dim our fire. We mindlessly live for the quick buck, but is that an honest living? What is it to live honestly and authentically? Unhinged and unfiltered, with no need for a disposition from a celebrity or politician or fancy words and smiles from a New Age magician here to trick my people into an unconscious state of spiritual submission.

I do not claim a system or knowledge that is judgmental, vindictive or draped in a pretentious mission. You should be this, or you should be that. Such labels tell me where our species is at having no identity, so we condemn each other for having any opinion at all. And I don’t claim to be a saint. We are all the same: Hypocrites too proud to admit that anything is wrong. Maybe our pride will be our undoing, but who knows? I am not psychic. I am just trying to figure out how to calm the world down a bit. Maybe that’s my way of trying to calm myself down. Could it be that we are not so different after all? Or has the media done too good a job at dividing us?

I sincerely hope that even in old age, I will strive to be as selfless as possible.

Even if I’m facing a life-or-death situation, I can still fight for the freedom and understanding of my values and those held by others. I hope to be like my heroes, who have inspired me throughout the years to be tenacious and never give up on facing my fears and mistakes. I hope to share this knowledge and motivate others to do the same in their lives. As I write, I keep thinking to myself, “I hope . . .” as if there remains some uncertainty in the values of my future self. I only hope the mundane lifestyle of safe civilian living does not destroy my ambitious disposition. And yet again, I remind myself that if alcohol, drugs, depression, and suicide could not beat me, I sincerely doubt that something like that could either. I will keep practicing “heroism” and fine-tuning my commitment to becoming selfless. Without it, I feel an emptiness. I hope to be in the kind of situation that gives me opportunities to help people the best way I can, and for that, I must “put myself out there” for all the world to see.

Visualize this: Let us stay young at heart and find places of solace even as our jobs and this world try to tear us apart.

I have to keep reminding myself that the world will always find a way to give me a reason to doubt myself, which means I have to try even more challenges to pull that beautiful soul out to inspire those who have barricaded themselves behind armor and fake smiles – the way I used to do. I let a couple of people take advantage of my compassion; after that, I did not want to share my true self with anyone. Then, as time passed, I forgot how much I meant to people. I forgot that those nearest to me still believed in me and that others were waiting for me to help them on their journey.

There is no reason to hold back on who we truly are. If people look to take advantage of you, step up and protect yourself because they will not stop until you do. In fact, they will think they are in the right for doing so and make you feel worse for trying to stop them. All you can do is smile, for hating them for their inability to empathize is no better than their selfishness. We must be the more forgiving party. Forgiveness, however, is a difficult value to nurture, and the negative qualities of others often attach to us like parasites. Of course, surrounding ourselves with honorable people will help put us in a position to cultivate those positive qualities.

We have also forgotten what love is. Most people want nothing to do with love or compassion because you cannot make money off it. Shallow people will do whatever they can to put dollar signs on everything, and if you don’t go along, if you stand your ground and try to be genuine, then you will be cast aside. Ignore them. You must stay strong and true. There is a good chance they will never understand, so don’t hold it against yourself if you feel you could have helped them but didn’t. It is not mean to think that some people will never change; it is, in fact, realistic. We give everyone the benefit of the doubt because we want to believe they have the potential for love, but they usually need to figure things out independently. You cannot save everyone, so focus on saving yourself first.

I will no longer hold onto my misunderstandings of other people. If they find the courage to change after meeting me, so be it. If they continue to walk on the path of selfish pride, then so be it. I am only here to offer the tools necessary for self-reflection, change, and self-love. If, by sharing these tools, I find myself at war with those who seek to take advantage of this world for selfish gain, then so be it. I am done pitying those who knowingly shy away from bettering themselves, and I will not regret this. It is not my job – or yours – to save everyone; even if it was, not everyone could be saved. Words are so fragile and fleeting, and there is no way to know if your lessons and advice will reach the hearts and minds of those who struggle. All you can do is lead by example, live your best life, and hope for the best for everyone else. Lend a helping hand when you can, and cheer humanity on as we undo the damage of narcissism and materialism. The undying commitment to make the world a better place will never die. My heart overflows for those of you who still have hope and have decided to turn away from media, money, and ignorance. For you, there will always be a way forward.

My visualization becomes clearer the more often I fail.

Instead of dwelling on mistakes, I now use them to propel me toward something unexplainable. My will and drive are untamable. The less I try to restrain myself, the happier I become. I am coming out of my shell. This time it is different. All the previous times I spoke of my goals and prowess, I used drugs and pride to reassure myself that “I still got it,” knowing it was a ruse to cover my doubt that I still had a chance to bounce back. It was not a path to discovering my most authentic self. Now, however, I feel wings beginning to unfold from my back. Every day that I beat addiction, I grow another feather.

I used to take my anger out on the human race for casting me out and making me feel like a heathen. I did so by cynically thinking that the world was against me without actually doing anything to confirm this belief. I preferred to wallow in my victimhood because I would rather be lonely. Shovel enough drugs, sugar, technology, media, and propaganda down your throat, and you will know the feeling of being truly evil, of wanting life – including your own life – to perish. The fact that I bounced back from this abyss is nothing short of a miracle I finally made because I could no longer live the other way. But this change was not just my doing. I share the credit with friends, family, and peers who supported and helped me along the way. Still, I had to take the first step. I had to want it every moment of every day. Now I have it and will do everything I can physically, emotionally, and mentally to secure this feeling for the rest of my days.

My progress from hopeless addict to the epitome of health and determination is driven by my innate nature to evolve and adapt but in a way that lets my true self grow, unafraid to be known. I am the embodiment of karma – the good and the bad, the cause and effect. I am content with knowing nothing. I welcome the opportunity to battle any trial that life sends my way. My greatest feature is an inability to give up or go down without swinging. I have fallen further than almost everyone I know, and I have only grown stronger from everything and everyone that tried to deal me a lethal blow. My confidence has returned, something I became unfamiliar with due to my failures and the judgmental asides of others – who, I might add, are far from perfect themselves. I finally have a life I can be proud of, something I can show to those who didn’t believe in me, tried to make me like everyone else, and sought to impose their limited values, making me doubt myself.

Now it’s time for revenge, but nothing malicious, of course, or even at the level of, “I told you so.” My revenge is the eradication in my mind of “doubt,’ and I will accomplish this by living a happy, healthy life. I do not require intimacy, religion, drugs, society, media, or government to feel the way I do. I am the independent variable, the hero in my own story. A man who finally crafted himself not for glory but to see others catch fire as he did. A warrior committed to cleansing this planet of ignorance and planting new seeds of compassion and understanding. The forces of nature swirl around me, caress me and nurture me. I am the force that rectifies the subjective and condemns the objective, illuminated by the beacon atop my head. The galaxy opens up to me. The only way my journey was possible was from sheer determination to rid my mind and soul of the judgments and restraints placed on me by my misunderstandings. I can finally let go. I hope you feel as though you have written this yourself, for only through my encounters with others was I capable of understanding that we all hold the same potential.

This is the story of a man who risked everything to be a little more unique and authentic than the world expected him to be. To seek rebirth, like nature, with roots shooting through whom he used to be in order to connect him to who he has always been, awakening to the enlightened side of life that most would consider “taboo” – too dangerous or difficult to contemplate. But what is taboo to someone who searches for truth?

Allow me to reminisce. No one expected this fellow to bounce back. Everyone thought he was done for, that there was no way he could make anything out of the life he took for granted and then soiled. Their grave mistake was that they neglected to dig deeper to find the seed he left in the soil years ago. Although left unwatered, it still lived and breathed, waiting for the moment to take root and sprout up to touch the sky and shade those who always believed in him. “I will protect you,” he said.

He doesn’t worry that others scoff at his dream. If this life forgives him for his most heinous deeds, why can he not reciprocate that to others? To waste time worrying about consequences impedes his ability to live and act in the moment. He realized that only by being straightforward and honest would he be able to nurture the pure nature of himself. The greatest evil – and in turn, the greatest regret – is defining oneself by the expectations put in place by others. What are you doing if you aren’t chasing and living your dream? You aren’t living. You are just waiting to die. Slowly.

Nature breathes with us, but concrete suffocates, making us lose sight of what is important: The fact that we are alive! We get so wrapped up in what the world is doing that we forget what we want to do. This world crushes dreams, but it does so in a way that makes people okay with it by letting them know they are part of the same group, so no one thinks less of themselves because, in the end, we all give up anyway. Our ideals became frail after allowing the world’s opinions to shape our minds – opinions that become beliefs that society embeds like cement in our psychological foundation that takes years to chisel away. And there are some who will never find the pickaxe to get started. But what may seem like a dead end may actually be the beginning of another route. So keep moving, for heaven’s sake, so may we find another way.

I transcend yet again.

This time, I intend to escape the last shackle finally. Up until now, I was afraid of the unknown. It terrified me because I was worried about what I would think about after I healed. I have mostly known only pain and manic frenzy thanks to unhealthy coping mechanisms and deep-rooted unforgiveness. The unknown beckons me now, however. The nothingness of the future invites me, and I wait at the moment for its presence to engulf me. Now that my will has become positive, I can make a break for infinity if it all falls together while I start falling upward. Isn’t it beautiful? Who knew that the mind of a sober drug addict could legitimately reach for the stars? This calls for a toast! To love and the pursuit of knowledge. Let each of us aid our fellow man and finally become one with what has always existed, always listened, always whispered. The voices of peace, tranquility, and revelation carry me to a new reality, yet it feels like I have been here before – or have I been here all along? Ahh, the endlessness of it all! Persistent is the nature of this reality, this innocence. I have only just begun to refract light through the prism of my mind. Clear as clear would a mind be if it could finally see what it needed to be and be open to all possibilities.