#rebirthday
10 years…
10 long years ago, to this very day, I was morbidly obese, depressed. I was a college dropout. I was up to my neck in debt. And on this day, 10 years ago, I found out I was going to be a father.
10 long year ago, to this very day, I stood in front of the scale. I knew that I had to change. But I was frozen in place, unable to move. That single step was a vast distance to cross. One small step but yet the largest step I’ve ever taken. Neil Armstrong ain’t got shit on me.
10 long years ago, to this very day, I took that terrifying step. The number on the scale read 410lbs. I was horrified. It shook me to my core, to my soul. At 410lbs, I could not be the father that my daughter deserved. I was not being the husband that my wife deserved. But that at the moment when I took the second step off of the scale, I felt like I was struck by lightning. Losing weight, and LIVING wasn’t something that I felt I ought to do or should do, but something I MUST do. I realized that there was nothing on this earth that would stop me from becoming the father that my daughter deserved. The old me died that day, and I was reborn.
The old me was an anchor; the old me needed to die for me to move forward. That moment defines my life. It is the line where I can definitely know where “before” ended, and “after” began. From ashes gray, a phoenix arose.
The person I am now was born that day. Happy rebirthday to me.
10 short years ago to this very day, I chose to seek the life of my dreams.
Today, I barely remember the person who I was. It’s like the first 28 years of my life were a dream, but now I am awake.
If you had told me that I’d be a dad of two wonderful kids, a college graduate with a 4.0 GPA, a business owner, entirely debt free, and in the best shape of my life, I would have never believed you.
Every day, I feel blessed. I am grateful for my family and friends who support me on my continued journey. I am grateful for the mentors, and teachers that I’ve had along the way. I am also grateful for those who doubted me or still doubt me.
I have maintained my 200lb weight loss. I became filled with a sense of purpose that I had never known before, which was to help others become the best version of themselves.
If you don’t like the situation you are currently facing, whatever it may be, you have the power of change within you. If I could do this, so can you.
Draw your line in the sand. Take that first, terrifying step across it. But for every step that follows, you aren’t alone. You are never alone.