From Marc and Angel:

Things can change if you want them to, at any age. As I awoke this morning, I marveled at my life today. Where once I woke with dread at the thought of a new day, now I wake with excitement to begin – grateful to be doing what I’m doing for a living. I am so happy I did what I had to do, and struggled through the tough times and the fears, and realigned my life with the things that make me happy. When friends ask me how I did it, as they sometimes do, I tell them, “Hard work and persistence. It’s a small price to pay for a changed life.”

Here are ten things you can do to change your life at any age:

1. Subtract the wrong things. – When things aren’t adding up in your life, it’s time to start subtracting. Sometimes you must let go to grow. You cannot discover new oceans unless you build up enough courage to lose sight of the old, familiar shoreline. Be brave. Follow your values. Make changes. And remember, no venture is ever a waste of time. The ones that don’t work out teach you lessons that prepare you for the ones that do.
2. Believe you CAN. – The biggest obstacle that stops people from achieving their dreams is the feeling that they are not good enough. Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. You are good enough! Don’t let life discourage you. Success is often closer than it seems. With enough determination and drive, anything is possible in time. Everyone who got to where they are had to begin from where they were, just like you.
3. Work hard for what you want most. – Dreams don’t just magically become realities; it takes a lot of determination, sweat, and hard work. Remember, tough circumstances don’t last; tough people do. Most obstacles melt away when we make up our minds to march boldly through them. If you have a strong commitment to your goals and dreams, and wake up every morning with passion to work toward them, anything is possible.
4. Stand up for yourself. – You can’t force people to show you respect, but you can refuse to be disrespected. If you always back down to keep the peace, you will forever be armed with anger and self-loathing, and fighting a war within. Say what you need to say, do what you need to do, and don’t let anyone bully you into a corner.
5. Let go of the past. – Don’t stumble on something behind you. Don’t let your shadow guide you. You are not a slave to your past. Let it go and move on. Dream and give yourself permission to envision a ‘YOU’ that you choose to be – that you know you CAN be.
6. End hurtful relationships. – Just because you have a past with someone, doesn’t mean you should have a future with them. Just because you miss someone, doesn’t mean you need them back in your life. Sometimes missing them is just a healthy part of moving on.
7. Be thankful for what you have. – It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy. Even when times are tough, think of all the beauty still around you, and smile. Life is too short to have a victim mentality. Say to yourself, “I am not going to be bitter, I am going to be better.”
8. Dedicate some time every day to loving yourself. – Only when we can sit alone quietly and look with honest eyes at our strengths and our weaknesses, our failures and our triumphs, our humanness and our moral strength, and love ourselves in spite of, and because of all that we are, will we begin to truly understand the meaning and power of unconditional love.
9. Keep learning and embracing life’s changes. – The seeds of your success are planted in your past failures. Your best stories will come from overcoming your greatest struggles. Your praises will be birthed from your pains. Keep standing and keep pushing forward. Even the coldest winters eventually turn into springtime. Seasons always change.
10. Enjoy where you are now. – Sometimes we’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds. You might not be exactly where you had intended to go, but you are precisely where you need to be.