YOU CAN CHANGE

We’re going to kind of take a trip down memory lane throughout my life, so that I can really show you that no matter where you are in your life, no matter what’s going on with you, what position you’re in, what choices you’ve made that have led to the life you’re living today, that you can change. 

If you have goals, if you have dreams, if you have a vision, no matter where you are right now, change is only a decision away.

And, I hope that my journey and my story inspires and proves to you that that is the case.

HOW CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

Obviously what I want to prove to you with this story is that change is possible, but really what I want to show you is HOW change is possible.

Because correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve probably tried to change your life before. Whether it’s been to become more successful in business, health, relationships, you’ve probably got this idea of who you want to be and the things you want to experience in life. But, when you try to make it happen, you end up retracting into your old ways and are left feeling extremely frustrated. 

Honestly, this is because there are really 3 levels of change:

LEVEL 1: WHAT WE KNOW

• We know that we should eat healthily.

• We know that we should put more content out there for our business.

• We know that we should work to create success. 

LEVEL 2: WHAT WE DO

• We can start going to the gym.

• We can start going LIVE.

LEVEL 3: WHO WE ARE

But, if we don’t change who we are, none of that will stick.

HOW YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF

And so, where my story really starts is way back in primary school. Let’s just put it this way, I was a little bit chubby in primary school. All of my friends were really little and really athletic and I just…wasn’t.

Because of this, I identified myself as “the bigger girl” and what I was seeing in movies was that the big girl in movies was always the tough one, the tomboy. So, I assumed that role of like, “I’m going to be a tomboy”.

Being that this was the “identity” that I had created for myself throughout primary school, I kind of really wanted to break that when I went to high school. I didn’t want to be known as “the bigger girl”, I didn’t want to be known as “the non-skinny blond athletic one”. So, when I went to high school I really assumed the role of “I’m going to be a badass, I’m going to be a rebel”.

So that’s what I did. I was that girl that refused to wear her uniform, got really really bad grades, never listened, was actually put on a good behaviour contract for fighting…I know, ok.

I’m sharing this with you because I really want to prove that we will always act in accordance with who we believe we are. 

All of the trouble I got into, all the people I attracted into my life, all the situations I found myself in, where a direct result of who I BELIEVED I was. And, who I was CHOOSING to be. 

Ultimately, I just really made it my identity that I was this badass, didn’t care about authority, didn’t want to do well in school, party girl.

You know, I carried this personality for pretty much my whole entire high school, and into the beginning of my university experience. 

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t doing very well. I would never go to class, I would always hand in my stuff late…basically, I was going nowhere. Again, that was the identity I had chosen for myself. I wanted to be seen as someone who basically just didn’t care.

WE ARE ALL JUST TRYING TO FEEL SIGNIFICANT

And, we are all just trying to feel significant. So however we are showing up in our life right now, and the personality that we’ve built for ourselves, we do that for security, we do it for significance, and we do it, ultimately, because it is what gives us meaning to our lives, whether that meaning is positive or not. 

You know, you hear a lot of people who create hard scenarios for themselves, you hear about victim mentality, and this all comes from us trying to give meaning to ourselves. 

Well, we have to stop and ask ourselves, is that meaning positive?

THE TRUTH

I remember, one day I was at uni and went to the library to visit my friend Yvette. And, Yvette showed me a video that changed my life. The video was called The Truth and it was by Eric Thomas. 

When I saw that video I DECIDED that I wanted to change.

I looked around at all the students that were studying and I literally decided I was going to make something of myself.

I DECIDED I was going to be successful.

I DECIDED I was the type of person who got good grades. 

And, you know what, I ended up graduating in the top 15% of my class. I went from someone who was barely there, who barely handed in their assignments on time to someone who graduated with honours. 

I wanted to share that part of my story because it really does come down to who you’re choosing to be. 

HOW I CHANGED MY LIFE

Starting to identify as someone who was productive and proactive, naturally led to identifying as someone who took care of themselves. 

I started watching videos from people living a healthy lifestyle and started seeing myself from that light. 

So, first I changed the way I saw myself academically—I graduated in the top 15%.

Then I changed the way I saw myself relative to health and fitness—I DECIDED I was someone who was healthy and fit and became it.

Both of these pivotal moments have led me to where I am today. 

If I hadn’t started to see myself as someone who aspired to become something, the moment at a PR event that inspired the start of my YouTube career would not have resonated with me. Because I would not have identified as someone to whom it mattered.

But, because I was identifying myself as someone who was smart, who was able to go someone in life. 

Because that was what I was telling myself because I was affirming it to myself with all of the motivational videos I was watching…

That advice spiralled into me starting a YouTube channel, which is what led me to want to start a business, and ultimately to where I am today. 

IT ALL STARTED WITH HOW I SAW MYSELF

And, it all started with how I saw myself. 

Yes, what I did played a big part in it, the actions that I took, but those actions were taken because of who I saw myself to be. 

I started seeing myself truly as an entrepreneur, truly as a coach…

All of the decisions that I’ve made in my business, on my YouTube channel, launching, selling, making 6-figures, investing in myself, saving money, all of this comes down to my identity and how I see myself.

And, I know it sounds dramatic, but it all started that day in the library when I heard something that gave me permission to see myself as someone I was not. 

You need to sacrifice who you are now, for who you are becoming. – Eric Thomas

Facebook is telling me that 8 years ago I was feeling crappy because I hadn’t slept (probably because I had stayed out partying until 4 am the night before) and here I am now, creating content for thousands and thousands of people to see and I am supporting my dream life with the products that I sell in my business. 

And, this is the life that I have created for myself, all because I decided I could. Because I decided that’s who I wanted to be. 

So, wherever you are in life right now, honestly, no matter how old you are, no matter what you’re experiencing, no matter how your identity has unfolded into your experience, you can change that. 

You have the power to change first of all how you see yourself and second of all what happens to you because of that.

If you need support, join our community on Facebook and Instagram – @erinmayhenry, I’ll see you there!