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In my journeys through this life, I have come across many paths.  I have dined in luxury with millionaires, and ate in shacks of the less fortunate.  I often ponder what is the difference between the CEO of a fortune 500 company and a person who is homeless on the street.  Some say its upbringing or genetics.  Some go on to say it is education level or skill.  When  I think about the answer to this question, I cant help but think about Les Brown.  For those of you who don’t know, Les Brown is one of the best motivational speakers of our time. Les was born into poverty and taken in by his adopted mother Mamie Brown.  From elementary to high school, he was deemed educable mentally retarded.  He did not go to college, and his first real job out of high school was an errand boy for a radio station.  I sit back and ask myself how can someone with a background like his achieve so much, and people who have college degrees do so little. The answer my friends is simple.  Les Brown ignored the clamors of the negative people in his life. He knew in his heart that he was destined for greatness, and he did not let people keep him from fulfilling his destiny. We must learn from Les and have the courage to press on even when the people we love the most tell us our dreams are unreachable.  With the right attitude we can do anything we dream of.  Life will sometimes knock us down, but just remember if we can look up we can get up.

In life, society teaches us to follow a certain path. It has been proven, unless you are a gifted athelete or artist, to be “successful” we must take a journey that starts in grade school and ends with a college diploma. However, most people who do reach that prestigious destination find themselves with a college degree, a ton of student loans, no job, or clue of what they are supposed to do with their life. Now I believe in education, but even more so I believe in education serving a purpose. In modern society you need more than a college education. To reach your true potential, you must have the courage to ignore the negative people in your life and open your mind to ideals and principles that you may have not been introduced to. The only person that can put boundaries on your life is you!