Positive Forward Motion, Where It All Started
What is Positive Forward Motion? A three-word phrase I live by every day, a simple reminder to keep my goals and dreams the focus of my life. There is no magic wand to make your dreams a reality but, you have the ability to use this mantra as a tool to take action and create some magic in your own life. You may be wondering, how am I such an expert on positivity?
This journey started for me as a child growing up in a family that had every reason to let hardship, fear and failure take over. My parents grew up poor during the great depression with little opportunity to live a better life. What my parents passed down to me is that it’s okay to glance at your past and remember where you come from but, it does not define who you are. They were determined to instill in me the grit, passion and focus it takes to make it through the trials and tribulations of life. Hard work and a positive attitude were their formula for success!
My mother Mae was my very first mentor, she always found the good in every situation and every person; not because she had the perfect life, actually it was quite the opposite. From the moment she was born her life was a struggle, brought up in a poor household with abusive, alcoholic parents she had to make the best of her circumstances. What I admire about my mom the most is, she realized on her own that she had a choice in how her life would turn out. She knew from a young age that she wasn’t comfortable with just okay, she wanted a life that was spectacular. My Mom seized control, taking one small positive step each day.
My father Bill had a different approach to raising us, he was typically quiet and reserved but, boy did he let his actions do the talking. I believe his lack of words and sense of action were due to being raised by immigrant parents that did not read or write English. My father only spoke Ukrainian until the age of 8. My Dad explained to me that if I wanted something bad enough, I could achieve it by simply doing. I still can hear his words of encouragement, “Denise, are you going to keep talking about what you are going to do or are you going to get doing?”
When my parents were older, they had a successful restaurant business and a family of their own. Everything from the outside looked as if they were living the American dream; a beautiful home, new cars and exotic vacations. What people didn’t see was the reality of everyday challenges of married life, having a special needs child and running a business. My parents viewed those obstacles as an opportunity to teach my brother and I the value of hard work, persistence and a can-do attitude.
What I’m getting at here is life is going to give you road blocks, many in fact. People along the way are going to tell you your dreams are silly or your ideas are useless, don’t listen. Trust yourself to keep your goals a priority and take another positive step, no matter how small, in the direction of your dreams!
Click Here to listen to my Keeping Up the Positive Forward Motion podcast
