Too many people live their live surrounded by critical and negative people because they believe that’s just how life is. When you live where the people celebrate who your are, not just tolerate who you are, you will be much happier, more productive and will generally be a better person.

I lived many years of my life surrounded by very “normal” people who were quite negative, pessimistic and generally more focused on what other people thought than actually living their lives how they wanted to, I was absolutely one of those people as well. The difference for me was I always knew that I had more to give and that I was different to most people, but for the longest time I saw this as a negative and not something to be celebrated. I was so fearful of standing up strong in who I was and living my purpose of helping people and making a difference for fear of judgement and ridicule. If I am brutally honest with myself there are still fears around this that I have as I move forward on my purpose with The Strong Life Project. What I have discovered though is that when I have the courage and the self belief to live my life as the guy who has a bigger purpose to fulfil, the people around me are either very accepting of this or they disappear out of my life. Either way that is totally OK with me.

Once I became more focused on being the best version of me I possibly could and less worried about what other people thought, my life began taking a very different trajectory and continues to grow more amazing all the time. Sometimes it feels like it is happening at a snails pace but still I know it is happening and only because I had the guts to decide who I was going to be regardless of what other people thought.

These days I have more amazing supportive people in my life than I ever thought possible and this is only because of the person I allowed myself to be, not because of what someone else gave me permission to be. There have been heaps of people who have supported me to be my best but ultimately the decision had to be mine to own it and live it.

When you step up in your life to be the person you want to be regardless of what people say you will inevitably change the way you’re perceived and therefore change the experience in your life. If people don’t like the “new you” then they will disappear, and that’s OK, because it creates more room for those who will celebrate the amazing person you show up as.

If you continue to hide the real you behind the façade of the person you think other people want you to be, you’re robbing them of the opportunity to really enjoy the you who can make such a difference in their lives. Nobody is going to turn up and tell you its OK to be amazing and powerful in your life, that responsibility falls directly onto your shoulders.

Are you willing to be the person that they celebrate, rather than the one they tolerate?