I don’t know about you but I tried depression and I didn’t like it as much as I loved feeling good. I learned first hand how quick a depression could suck the life out of anyone, even me. The shocking thing was the darkest days of my life came when I was at the pinnacle of my life. I was the best Orlando Magic fan that I could possibly be since 1989. Over the years I got to know several players from Shaq down to Hedo Turkoglu which only made me love the Magic even more. Watching the Magic play with Cristina was one of my favorite things to do. I sat front row for three years and I can’t tell you how much that did for my career and status in the community. I had been a small corporate sponsor with the Orlando Magic for less than a year when they asked me if I was interested in hosting a fan influencer party with them at my home. Our party was a smash and it was the talk of the town which had us both extremely thrilled by the outcome. The Magic had the highest ticket sales for an influencer party and my clients and friends got to hang out with Magic players and officials so it was a win-win situation for both of us. Everyone who came to the party had an awesome time. It was easily one of the proudest moments of my life because I had never received so many compliments for one of my speeches as I had that night.
The next night everyone was talking about the party and the Magic organization was talking so highly about me. By the third quarter I went from being the talk of the town to the talk of the nation because what I said got me a police escort out of the arena. My mouth which had always been so good to me got me into some major trouble because I was banned from NBA basketball for a year. It seemed like the whole world was talking about it. I was in the news for over a week. I felt horrible because people were calling me a racist and I and don’t have a racist bone in my body. I kept reading the negative stories about how bad and evil I was for what I said. What was crazy was all the racism I received but I couldn’t blame them because they only had the media’s story to go by. I couldn’t believe some of the horrible things people said when they called my cell phone about 100 times a day or the nasty and racist emails I got. I wanted for everyone in the world to see that I was not a racist but all I could do was ask myself the most demoralizing questions. There I was the master of ceremonies at my own poison party just being extra hard on myself. What you think is what you will get because I started feeling horrible.
I realized how incredibly powerful thoughts can be because my thoughts took me from being a happy, motivated, caring, and always positive person who strived to make others smile, to being a depressed person without energy that just wanted to sleep day and night. All I did was blame others for my situation while I was living it up in the land of denial. I couldn’t believe I was depressed when I used to be one of the happiest guys in the world. I thought I had all the things that I ever wanted in my life like awesome relationships with my loving family. I was in a dream romance with my soulmate and best friend. My successful real estate firm had just had its best year ever with $55,000,000 in sales. I had my best year in sales with $30,000,000 of that $55,000,000. I had just moved into a big 7,000 square foot house that Cristina and I had custom built with everything we wanted in it. I had four cars and many other materialistic things that I thought I had wanted to make me happy but I was wrong. There I was living what I thought was my dream life and all I could do was sleep, I couldn’t believe that I was so deeply depressed.
I never thought that depression could happen to me but there I was feeling like it was the end of the world. Then I hit rock bottom and I almost started to give up because I just couldn’t visualize a happy ending. After waking up one day I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t even look at myself anymore I was so disgusted with the state of mind that I was in. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I was only feeling this way because I was thinking negatively. I had a horrible case of stinking thinking.
The countless hours that I had spent reading books and listening to motivational c.d.’s hit me at once. This depression was all my fault and the only person that I could blame was myself. I had sabotaged everything I worked so hard to accomplish by forgetting some of my beliefs. My communication with myself was the opposite of the way it once was. Since communication is the key to life, I felt like my communication with my subconscious was getting worse by the thought.
How did I overcome my nasty depression you ask? It was so much easier then I had ever expected, I can tell you that. I knew right then that I had to change because I didn’t want to live a miserable life any longer. Change was my only option and I was going to make it happen no matter what the challenge was. I kept saying to myself, “I am back on track and nothing can turn me back. My new attitude is unstoppable.” What was so amazing to me was how quick my depression was gone. When I changed my thoughts I instantly changed my feelings which made me want to live again. It was almost if I had just pressed the ignition button on a race car because my burning desire to succeed was back and stronger than ever. I kept telling myself everyday that there would be no limitations to my happiness because now that I have power and control over my thoughts and actions, their is nothing I can’t do.
Every moment and every day just kept getting better and better. I was focusing on the most desirable outcomes that were in my future because I was taking the action necessary to succeed. It was like I was just existing and then I was living and loving every minute of it with more passion then ever. I had an attitude of gratitude as I would just thank the universe for everything I had in my life. I was also thanking the universe for my future accomplishments because I started feeling and acting like I was already there. I would only think of positive and empowering thoughts that were going to get me closer to my desired future outcomes. I kept reminding myself that as the master of my thoughts, I would be the master of my destiny. Any time I caught myself being negative or having any doubts, I quickly caught myself and changed my mindset to a peak performance state so I could get back on track. I was so fascinated with my new belief system because now I had power and control over my thoughts and actions which empowered me to do anything I wanted. I also eliminated words out of my vocabulary like can’t, or failure.
Everything became an outcome, because I didn’t believe if failure anymore. If I didn’t get the outcome I wanted I would just change my approach. When I went from being happy to being sad it took a while, but when I went from depression to being happier than ever it almost happened in a blink of an eye. I would keep changing my state of mind to good thoughts. Good thoughts equal good feelings. It is as simple as that. It is amazing how fast powerful thoughts can empower you to take action. Change takes time, but change starts the second you tell your mind that change must happen now. The subconscious mind is unbelievably powerful and fast. When you feed your mind with empowering thoughts it is going to get stronger and stronger, making your life better by the moment.
You can instantly change the way you feel by changing your thoughts because it is impossible to feel bad when your thinking is good. Bad thoughts equal bad feelings, good thoughts equal good feelings. My mind power gets stronger daily because I constantly read and listen to motivational discs. I constantly ask myself empowering questions that my subconscious mind answers with empowering thoughts which then turn into the actions that I take, manifesting into the outcomes I desired. Why would you ever want to limit your mind power? Strengthen your mind daily as you live to learn with a commitment to constant and never ending improvement. Mind power will improve your life beyond your highest expectations. You will be in total control of your life instead of your fears controlling you. You will look at failure as an opportunity to try again with a much better approach. If you don’t empower your mind you will always get the same out of life as before. Why would you want the same out of life, when you can get the best out of the rest of your life? Don’t you want the freedom to do what you want, when you want to?
Remember you are the only person in the world that can turn your thoughts into actions. Your life will be only as extraordinary as you make it. Start right now and take the necessary actions to live your life the way you really want to live. Now is the time to take total control of your future because the quality of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts and the actions you take. Communication is the key to your future and it is your catalyst for change so now is the time to take action because we can change the world one thought at a time.
These steps to go from zero to hero in a shortest time can be used for personal goals or business goals.
Control your thoughts to take massive action towards the outcomes you desire. Be specific about what it will take for you to succeed. What new beliefs you will need to obtain? Who will you help with your goods and services? What sacrifices are you willing to take? When is the deadline of your desired outcomes? Write down how good you are going to feel when you succeed. Name all of your loved ones you will effect when you succeed.
Always see from the other persons point of view and make them want your goods and services. There is only one way to get anyone to do something and that is by making them want to do it. Always think win-win. Remember you will get everything in life that you want if you just help others get all the things in life that they want.
Be flexible in your approach and if you don’t get your desired outcome you must keep changing your approach until you succeed. Remember failure is not an option, it is a chance to try again with a better approach. Make it happen now and don’t give up until you win.
Success leaves clues so model people who are already getting the results you desire. You can duplicate their beliefs, their actions, and any other competitive edge they use because the best are the best for a reason. The most successful people in the world don’t believe in failure. They believe they can do anything they put their minds to.
Always be pro-active towards your outcomes and goals. Focus on the future and never look back because you can’t change the past but what you can change is your future. When you catch yourself losing focus just stop yourself and refocus.
Constant and never ending improvement must be a part of your belief system. You are a student of the game so never stop learning. The most successful people turn their knowledge into action. Their commitment to constant and never ending improvement is unbelievable.
Look forward to challenges as an opportunity to better yourself. Always stretch to do things that you previously couldn’t do. Stretching will have you achieving beyond your comfort zone. You know it is a challenge so challenge it with your best. Tell yourself, “I know I can.”
Work with precision, purpose, skill, and the best attitude possible. Always bring your A game because when it is “Show Time” you must deliver your best performance ever. Remember the show must always go on so rise to the occasion and make your performance unforgettable.
Remember criticism is a disguised compliment so don’t let it get to you. Use it as fuel to make your burning desire to succeed stronger than ever.
Winning isn’t the only thing but wanting to win is. Always act first class with an attitude of gratitude. Live with the urgency of now. It doesn’t matter if other people don’t believe in you. The only thing that matters is that you believe in yourself. Make the rest of your life the best of your life.
Hooman Hamzehloui is a Motivational Speaker.