Fuelled by gratitude
Hi! How you doing?
I have been in a reflective mood lately and I like to write so felt like sharing my thoughts with you.
Life has been difficult of late but I have been feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for where my life is at and that makes me put into perspective my current challenges.
The fact there is someone on the other side of the world wearing something that I have created is truly humbling. It’s crazy because I never envisioned my life to be this, as an entrepreneur with my own sportswear brand, even though it’s something I had thought about before, but there are thoughts and then there is reality. I describe this path as ‘accidentally finding my purpose.’
It started in 2015 when I spent a week in hospital after one day randomly waking up with sharp stomach pains. Turned out one of my kidneys broke down and the doctors said I should consider my future as at the time I was playing football semi-professionally and my health situation made things complicated. So while in hospital I had a lot of time to think about my life and where I was at the time and although I was playing football and had a good job, I was just drifting through life, without purpose or drive. What this health scare did for me was give me perspective and gratitude for good health and life in general. It wasn’t that I lacked gratitude for my health before this, it was that I wasn’t fuelled by gratitude and sometimes you only really appreciate something when it’s taken away. I had taken for granted the gift of health and my personal gifts which led me to not fully grasp the opportunities I had to progress my career. It was at that moment whilst laying in hospital that I decided from that point on to live my life purposefully and to always be fuelled by gratitude.
The Y-Fit logo symbolizes hope & overcoming adversity but it also is a reminder for me to be grateful for my health, to persevere until the end for my why, and also that this particular situation was the inception of my mindset shift. An accident had led me to my purpose.
Y-Fit is a result of that purposeful mindset and letting my gratitude for life & good health be expressed through the way I live my life and follow my dreams.
Fast forward 3 years, my health is great, the brand is a year and a half old, I have designed clothing for celebrities, had celebrities and pro athletes endorse the brand, people in various countries wearing Y-Fit, done interviews, spoke in front of young students at Brunel University and for all those things I’m grateful.
It’s important to take moments to reflect on how far you have come and take pride in what you have achieved so far. I realise that even though there is still a long way to go, I have done something I would have never thought I could do especially coming from where I come from. When you come from nothing, you learn to appreciate any blessing, it’s not about the size of the blessing, it’s about the fact you have been blessed and you are blessed.
Gratitude opens the door for good things to happen.
I’m grateful for all the blessings and the fact that people are inspired by the brand & my story. That fuels my ambition to succeed in all I do and I hope my example can motivates others to follow their dreams too.
Thanks,Mark
Happy International Women’s Day
Tanya aka @ms_honeyandmilk “Co dependancy can be described as using a relationship to fill a bottomless void due to not feeling whole and loved as an individual.’ It’s not the need to feel loved that’s the issue, it’s the inability to love ones self that causes the dysfunction’
You do not exist to depend on anyone. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again you are whole.
When two people come to together in a relationship they must be able to compliment each other. It should be equal and if it’s not then it’s simply not for you.
I’ll be your biggest support, we can grow together, build together. But I’ll also bring my self belief and self worth in the form of my independence - the ability to achieve what ever I want.
As a single person stand strong and follow your life’s purpose. As someone in a relationship do exactly the same. The only difference is you have a companion to share your journey with.
Build an empire on your own or together. One thing I’ve learnt is that once you know your self worth you become unstoppable. Your focus increases and you attract the right people into your life.
To all you strong women out there keep shining!”
#happyinternationalwomensday #equalrights #strongwomen #independentwoman
Follow your dreams
Following your dreams is a way you can create happiness. If only people realised this before they contemplated all the negatives of doing so even if deep down they know it is what will make them happy. When you weigh up the pros & cons of the decision, the pros being you are happy & there is a small chance of success and the cons being: people will not support you, it will be hard, you will have to work hard, you have to be patient, and humble, it will take time to get on your feet, you will fail many times & there is a small chance of success.
We tend to think the cons outweighs the pros but that is far from the case, the fact is, following your dreams will bring happiness and fulfilment because you are aspiring to create your own path in life by doing something you love and are passion about. The result really doesn't matter in the short term because being happy is the key and in the long term that happiness with bring the success because you placed the value in being happy and in that state of peace, you have a competitive advantage. Don't overvalue the result at the beginning and forget you got into this for the love of it and remember that the results don't come straight away, that's not how life works. When it's for the love and you are doing it because it makes you happy, and you fully grasp that concept, you then disrespect failure, are able & willing to put in the work necessary to achieve your goals, you don't let negativity or the opinions of others cloud your judgement and as a result win on an achievement level because before the success came, you won on a macro level/life level because of how the journey made you feel when you took the steps to follow your dreams.