Your new life is in the starting blocks and about to take off.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” – Maria Robinson

I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who emailed me their successful failure stories at per my ‘The Art of the Successful Failure. I Share My Story‘ post last week. I hope I helped you realize that you aren’t a failure and that your hardships are what make you a stronger individual on the path to happiness and success today. I won’t mention your name, but the positives you managed to pull out of your 2001 situation in Scotland emotionally touched me and I thank you for your honesty and very proud of where you have managed to take your life today.

As mentioned in last weeks post, I will be using every Friday to write about my passion for photography as it relates to me and my passion to motivate people to live a happy and positive life.

Tomorrow we enter the year of 2011 so this was the perfect time to talk about starting all over as I have come to know it. It’s normal for everyone to need some inspiration (or a kick in the butt) and it doesn’t matter where it comes from. Some of us get it from books, some of us get it from certain individuals and in my case, I got inspired and motivated from a movie. The 2008 film by David Fincher about the cycle of life. Yes, I’m talking about Benjamin Button.

We are only on this planet for a short time, so why not make the best of it. For me, the scene below was one of the most powerful messages that I walked away with from this movie and the basis of this post. Watch.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g72M0tTvjKU

Tomorrow will mark my two year anniversary since I started in photography. At 26 years old, I took the risk to embark on a new career. Some say that at 26, it was way too late to start something new, especially something as valuable as a career, but as Brad Pitt says: “I hope you have the strength to start all over’. It absolutely blows my mind that students going into grade 9 are expected to know if they want to go to college or university and what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Why put that kind of pressure on such a young mind. Let them develop and slowly fall into a life that will make them happy.

If 2010 wasn’t your best year, well here’s your chance to leave it where it is…. in the past. Use tomorrow as a benchmark into your new life. Stop using the terms ‘I wish I would of……” and make it happen now. If you aren’t happy with your current situation, only you can do something about it. Use this post as your ‘kick in the butt’ into a life that you’re proud of. As Harrison Ford once said: “We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance”.

Find something that inspires you and stick to it. One of the biggest inspirations in my life is a person named Jack Canfield. Jack, who is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, has led me to believe in myself and go after what I want and what I deserve, all done through listening to the story of this life and what he did to change it. I have never once read a Chicken Soup for the Soul book and I hope to relate this to everyone out there in the sense that I don’t care if you are into photography or ever check out my work, the purpose for this post is to pass on my knowledge as it has been passed on to me, in hopes of a better life. Google Jack Canfield or search him on YouTube. Below is one of many clips you can find online.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUBJReN4GnM

Starting over sounds scary, but being happy is well worth it. One thing I hope to leave you with, is that you’re a product of your own environment. If the people you hang around with are negative and bringing you down, well then it’s time for a change. Get rid of them. Trust me, there’s a better life out there for you. Life is meant to be good in all forms. Have you always wanted to go back to school? Well do it now. Sign up tomorrow or take the necessary steps in order to sign up. Imagine yourself in three years at your graduation. Don’t let the time come where you are saying “I wish I would of started three years ago, I would be done now”. Whatever it is your want, 2011 is your year to get it. I know it sounds cliche to start fresh in 2011, but if thats what works for you, then roll with it.

There’s a couple things you can’t change in life, one being your age, but there a million things you can change. Just because you think you’re too old, doesn’t mean you can’t do what you want to do, or be where you want to be. Just as age, make happiness a constant in your life.

If you aren’t happy with your current situation, I challenge you to come up with a goal for 2011 that you know, once achieved, will bring new joy into your life. I would love to hear what it is. How about this, mail me a hand written letter saying “In 2011 I will ____________ and fill in the blank. No matter how big or how small. Now you’ll be letting two people down if you don’t make a strong attempt at it. I will keep in touch with you, and once achieved, I will mail that letter back to you with a goal that I have made for myself and once I achieve it, you mail it back with a new goal for yourself, and keeping going back and forth. If you are interested in doing this, send me an email to jay@monstersvsme.com and I will give you my address. If I’m your friend or even complete stranger, I would love to be the person who assists you in completing your goals and the ultimate goal of a happy life.

Tomorrow is the first day of your new life.

With that being said, I wish everyone a Happy New Year and lots of success in 2011. This is your year.

“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever” – Keri Russell