Have you ever wondered, “What if I am not good enough?” Chances are, someone else put that thought inside your head. Do you know who else was told they weren’t good enough?

• Michelle Obama, Former First Lady of the United States of America. Her high school guidance counselor also told her she was not the right “fit” for Princeton. Translation, your race may be a factor in getting into Princeton. Pathetic. Look at how far she came as a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate and the First Black Lady. Those are tremendous achievements.
• Michael Jordan is a famous former NBA player. He was cut from his varsity high school team and put on JV. Now he is considered one of, if not the best, basketball players of all time.
• Barbara Streisand was told several times that her nose was too big for show business. They told her she would never make it with a nose that big. However, Barbra went on to star on Broadway in countless films and musical recordings. She has won 8 Grammys and is considered one of the greats.

As you can see, each of these individuals was told at some point or another that they were not good enough. Did they give up? No, they knew what they had to offer was much more significant than any person could decide. They rejected the notion that they were not good enough. Instead, they chose to believe that they were good enough.

I am not here to tell you that every dream you have will be a great success. Billy Joel wrote, “Dream on but don’t imagine they’ll all come true…” from his famous hit “Vienna.” Never let someone else dictate whether or not you pursue your dreams. After all, the only way to know for sure is to try. At the end of the day, only you know what you are truly capable of.

It is all about believing in yourself and working hard at what you are passionate about. No, it may not lead you to be the First Lady or best basketball player of all time, but is that any reason to not pursue your dreams? Absolutely not. In fact, it was former President Teddy Roosevelt who coined the phrase, “Believe you can, and you are halfway there.”

We all have a purpose on this earth, and while some are more public, many are not. What you do to change the world may not be trending on social media, but that does not make it any less significant. Due to social media, we have trained ourselves to believe that being seen is most important. What do you think they did before social media? Lived their lives for themselves, not others. I encourage you to do the same.