Eric Thomas said it best. The wealthiest place in the world is not what lies above the surface, but rather beneath it. The graveyard, to my personal belief, is the wealthiest place in the world. Skills, talents, tidbits of knowledge and beliefs that were never shown to the world during someone’s life remain dormant six feet underground.

We live our lives in accordance to our actions and our actions influence the legacies that we leave behind. People succumb to the pressures of an environment within society and are fearful to live the life that they want to. They feel like they are restricted within a bubble, afraid that if they do something out of the norm that the bubble will pop.

Most people probably will get married, have children, live in a stable house, and own a car. People strive to achieve that. But then what’s after that? Yes, you have met the standards of the typical middle-class American, but isn’t there something that drives you to do something more? Something that makes you unique among all others?

Sometimes at the gym, when I don’t want to listen to music, I’ll go on YouTube and find compilations of motivational speeches. I remember hearing this one man talk about getting that average job, that average house, getting married and having kids, working until you’re 65 or so, and then retiring. He continues by saying that after retirement, you only have a few years left to live, and then you die.

He basically plotted out the lives of so many middle-class Americans without even knowing the good majority of them. He created the blueprint of the average individual.

Don’t get me wrong. Some people are perfectly content with living the average life. People do whatever makes them happy. I know for certain, however, that there are people who had wish they did this or did that; a list full of regrets. If you are on your deathbed, don’t you wish you can close your eyes for the last time saying that you did everything you wanted and your life was essentially complete?

I think that the idea of living a unique life is pretty amazing. To be able to say that you lived your life differently than anyone else is a story all on its own. The only person that can stop you from achieving your goals is yourself. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

Nobody has to stop you from doing what you want. There is a way to get where you want to be and it involves willpower. If you truly want to achieve something, you need to make an agenda and anticipate on following that agenda until you achieve your goal. The discouraging remarks you may receive throughout your journey should only be used as encouragement to work even harder.

This year, I made a different resolution from the same one I’ve had for many years prior. I want to be happy. I want to do what makes me wake up in the morning and motivates me to get me where I want to be because I know that one day, I will be exactly where I want to be.

2016 has come and gone and 2017 is a new chapter in my life. I want this year to be the year where I can say that I am living a happier life on top of a successful one.

Leave nothing behind and live your life to the fullest; you won’t regret it.