Introduction

Doors have one purpose and that is to be a point of entrance to a particular space. Whether the door swings on hinges, revolves, or slides, it is a point of entry that leads somewhere. Doors are the equivalent to the choices we make from day to day. Each choice made, no matter how big or small, leads to a particular space. Every choice will open up a door that leads to some type of change. A choice is the door to change. When you exercise the power of making a choice, you are essentially signing a permission slip that gives the green light for your life to change in some shape or form.

If you choose to get married today, the space of your life will change.

If you choose to enroll into school, the space of your life will change.

If you choose spend your money instead of saving it, your life will change.

The fact of the matter is, choices govern the reality of our lives in more ways than many of us are aware of, or even care to admit. How can this be proven? Easily. Take an honest look at your life and consider the choices that you have made (or chose not to make), and you will come to see that the current state of your life is a sum total of the choices that you have made.

My heart behind this book is to offer you a vivid look into choices and the power they possess. There is no real way of doing that without being completely transparent about my personal choice making. I will be the first one to tell you that I haven't always made the best or wisest choices in life. I’ve screwed up, knowingly and unknowingly, more times than I can account for. In fact, the primary reason that I am not further along in life can be attributed to previous choices that have stifled my progress in one way or another. I do not live day to day with regrets, beating myself up for the things I could have done, shouldn't have done, or probably should have done differently, although I am fully aware that better choices would have resulted in a current reality that looks a bit differently. All in all, however, I am certainly not unhappy with my current place.

Now, I’m no expert with a doctorate degree in Choice Making, and this isn't a self help book that will provide you with the 12 Step Process to Better Choice Making. Rather, this book is an offering from a 23 year old young man who has fully stepped into the awareness that the power of a choice made in one second can, and will, change the entire trajectory of your life in the following second. Although the power of a choice is evidently undeniable, it isn’t widely understood by everyone. Many of us know that our decisions are powerful, but many of us aren’t knowledgeable of the root that choices stem from. That said, I feel it is imperative to ponder on the root of choice making. In my personal opinion, and based on personal experiences, there is one specific root that affects the human’s choice making process. That root has a name:self-identity. You probably didn’t expect the name of the root to be that. No worries; after the brief story I'll share, it’ll all make sense to you.

The story goes...

A young man by the name of Rob had a father who was a millionaire. Rob didn’t live with his parents but lived with an aunt from his mother’s side of the family. Rob’s mother died while giving birth to him which is the reason for his aunt taking him in and raising him. Although his father was still alive and capable of parenting him, his father left the country to start a completely different life.

Having grown up in Stockton, California in an area that was stricken with poverty, Rob became a product of his environment, or rather a product of the common normality of that environment. To put it more plainly, he wasn’t financially stable. The modern day term for that would be: broke. Due to Rob’s financial condition and overall state of life, Rob started to believe that his life could only mirror his struggles and disadvantages. Because of this mindset, his actions and choices reflected a person who was broke and broken. He didn’t make the wisest choices. He didn’t live with a determination to rise above the low places. He didn’t invest much energy or efforts into altering the narrative of his life.

There is a piece to Rob’s story that is strikingly peculiar. At the age of 15 years old, news of an inheritance left in his name by his father would surface. The inheritance was for 1 million dollars. Yes, 1 million dollars. What this reveals is that while he was living a reality that was riddled with financial difficulties and economical challenges that reduced the overall quality of his life, he was a millionaire the entire time. Yet, because he wasn’t privy to this information, nothing about his life, particularly his choices, mirrored the real truth of his life.

Just think about it. Had Rob known his true identity, his reality would have panned out much differently. If he knew he was a millionaire, or would become one when the funds were released to him, I imagine that he would have made choices that aligned with the future. Sure, it was impossible for him to know (earlier on) considering the dynamics of his upbringing. However, the point remains that, if he knew the potential his future had based on the inheritance that was waiting on him, his story would have more than likely unfolded another way.

It’s the same for many of us. We have spent many years making choices that are contrary to our future all because we do not understand our identity. With a full understanding of all that we are and the image we were created in, our approach to making life choices would be one that continually positions us to live our best life. In the absence of that understanding, we are prone to making irrational and irresponsible decisions, or settling for a reality that is beneath our privilege and potential all in the name of the bad hand life dealt us, just as Rob did. This is why we must maintain a proper understanding of our self-identity so that every choice made is through the correct filter.

More than anything else, I challenge you to discover your true identity and to become firmly grounded in it. That is where your ultimate power is found. What a tragic thing it would be to journey through life lacking an awareness of who you truly are. Nothing has impacted my life in a strong and positive way like coming to know who I am—and not just who I am as a man, but who I am as a young man in and of God.

And, please trust me, I know firsthand what it’s like to have life deal you a bad hand that leaves you feeling like you’re fighting against the world and losing. I know all about the rough days and hard times. The times when there is more bills than money. The times when your faith is haunted by your fears. Those days of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Those weeks where your life can be summed up with the old saying: if it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Yes, I know all about it; and I know how it can cloud your vision of how you see yourself. It is in those scary moments when you must cling to who you are, and most importantly, whose you are.

My main goal with this book is to assist you in getting a tight grip on who you are and whose you are. When that happens, your life is going to take off in a major way. Making good and smart choices will be your new normal. I really hope you’re ready for this one because your life won’t look the same after reading this. Stick with me! We going to the top.