If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past 5 years of health, financial and creativity challenges, it’s that the way you view and talk about your experiences matters.

Our words have power.

Tell yourself your luckily enough times and you’ll start to believe it. Are you really luckily or just noticing the luckily moments more because you believe in your good fortune? My best guess is because of your belief and confidence in that belief, you become more conscious of opportunities to be lucky. Like a string on a guitar, you’ve tuned yourself to a different, luckier key. While ever ones rushing around, worry their butts off, thinking they are unlucky, you’re the only one to notice the $20 dollar bill on the ground. Luckily day.

Words can work both ways on the spectrum too. Feeling lucky is just one example. Tell yourself you’re ugly or not beautiful enough and you’ll eventually start to believe it. Tell yourself something wrong with you and not only you’ll start to believe it, you’re body will believe it too.

Negative words have negative results.

Positive words, positive results.

It’s not the words that actually bring the results themselves, but the words lead to confidence in action and a willingness to go for the gold.

Words can either be wings that give you the change to go to new heights, or burdens you carry on your shoulders dragging you deeper into your problems.

Next time you’re dealing with a problem, or feel overwhelmed or stuck or uncertain, take a second and listen to how you think and talk about the issue at hand.

What sounds better to you?

Have a problem or having a challenge?

A problem — something you have to overcome, something that’s against you, misfortune that has happened to you, something that is ruining your life, or at least life as you know it.

Or a CHALLENGE — a chance to be better today and each day going forward, an opportunity to turn your experiences into a catalyst for change, a story, business, and or other chances to help people dealing with similar challenges, something that will improve your life for the better, at the expense of your previous expectations and awareness of how life worked.

A CHALLENGE is the hero’s journey you’ve been looking for, a problem is a third foot you can’t seem to get rid of.

Stay BOLD, Keep Pursuing,

— Josh Waggoner