Welcome to Real Talk with Reginald D. I'm your host, Reginald D. On today's episode, I'm going to talk about reacting to the sounds of sirens in your life. Let's go. What do you think about when you hear sirens going off? For me, when I think about a siren going off, I think about two things, emergency and urgency. So you have to understand that you have a siren inside of you. It's the one thing that's trying to get your attention. It's the sound of your dreams and desires. It's that sound you can't get out of your head and it's telling you that you want and deserve more for your life. It's that sound that's telling you that you can do better and walk in greatness. When the siren of greatness starts going off inside of you, when the siren of your dreams starts going off, you have to do something with it. It's your life telling you that it's an emergency. This is urgent. It's time for you to pursue your passion and your dreams right now. The worst thing you can do is not react to that sound inside of you that's telling you that there's more for your life. You have to understand that first before you can do anything else. I know for a fact that there is something inside of you that has been telling you for years that it's time to take your life to the next level. And I know that sound inside of you is wearing you out. Because you keep feeling your dreams and desires pulling you. But let me help you. Quit fighting it and start inviting it. Quit trying to ignore that siren that's going off inside of you that's telling you that you are better than where you are right now. Stop holding back. Stop letting people hold you back. You got to keep going. This is urgent. You can't quit on yourself. Don't let challenges hold you back. When a first responder has a siren on, everybody get out of the way and let them get to the purpose. This is the same thing about your life. Turn your siren on, which is your greatness and power and make your challenges move out of the way so you can get to your purpose. It's time for greatness. I need you to understand that you cannot confuse yourself when it comes to greatness. You can't combine being perfect with greatness. It's only going to confuse you because when it's all said and done, nobody's perfect, but a lot of people are great. Your greatness is your strength. So let me put it to you like this. You're not perfect, but you're strong. What am I saying? If you're waiting for the perfect moment or opportunity to come before you pursue your dreams and walk in greatness, that will never, ever happen. And the reason it won't happen is because of one word, and that's faith. You're going to have to have faith in God and faith in yourself if you're going to accomplish your dreams and your desires. There are going to be times where you can't see clearly where you're going, but you've got to have enough faith in yourself that you can get there. Have faith in your strength, man. Have faith in your mind. You are smart enough. I need you to understand that. I need you to understand that you are so gifted that people don't even understand you. You think they don't like you. You think they hate you, but they don't. You are too gifted and they don't understand you. What do you think is going to happen when you're operating your gift instead of sitting on it? You're really going to start shaking up some stuff. You just got to get up and start operating in who you really are. Do you know what's the enemy of success? It's the will of a person. If a person doesn't use their will or be willing to pursue their success, then a lack of their will or willingness becomes the enemy to their success. All because they didn't put in the effort. Don't let the siren of your life intimidate you. It's only trying to get your attention. It's only trying to make you come forth and be the powerful person that you are supposed to be. I need you to understand that you got to be bold and believe in yourself. If you're not bold, you will get swallowed up in this thing called life. Life will eat you alive. You are your biggest investment. You got to make sure that you invest things that are good and great into your life and quit investing in things that's making you soft, man. The sirens of greatness is going off inside of you. It's time to rise up. This is an emergency that's on your life. The future you is at stake. Let me hit you with this. And I really need you to think about this. Whatever you look forward to every day is what your life is going to become. If you look forward to getting off work and going home, sit on the couch and binge watch TV shows, then your life is going to be on the couch. If you like playing video games all day, then your life is going to become that. And that's all. If you pursue your dreams and your desires, if you chase greatness and put in the effort to be great, then your life will become great. It's that simple. Whatever you do is what you're going to become. Let me ask you a question. What are you concentrating on? You need to be concentrating on yourself. I need you to understand that when you win, your life wins. It's time for you to get up off the couch and get in the game. The only way you're going to win, you got to play. Ain't nobody ever won a game sitting on the bench. You're either going to settle for mediocrity or commit to your dreams. Commitment is a dedication to a course or activity. Settle means to choose and be in a secure state. In other words, being in a comfort zone. I used to hear men say that they are going to settle down with the woman. That always confused me. You don't settle down with the person. You commit to the person. I need you to understand that anytime you settle for anything, it's going to make you comfortable and make you weak and vulnerable. I have often heard people say that when they get off work, they just want to go home and relax. They just want to chill. Don't do that to yourself. Relaxation will become your mindset if you look forward to it all the time. You got to realize you got work to do. The siren is going off inside of you. What are you going to do, man? That siren aside of you is nothing but the sound of purpose. It's time to rise up. You can't keep blaming other people because you're not where you want to be in life. You are not a coward, so don't do that. You got to know your worth and go after your dreams and be willing to take the hits that comes with it. That's what creates the real you. I need you to realize that life can get tough. It will break you down, but it will fix your vision. And as long as you still got vision, You still got purpose inside of you. I remember one point in my life when I was struggling and I was poor, but through it all, I kept my vision. I visioned myself being successful. I kept seeing it in my life. I held on to that vision because the vision was all I had. I didn't have no money or nothing. Then one day my vision came true. I'm talking to someone right now that is down and out and can't see themselves overcoming their situation. Whatever you do, Hold on to the vision that God has shown you. Don't give up. Keep fighting. Keep fighting the good fight, and the vision will come true. Here's the thing. When you want something as bad as you want to live, then you will find a way. The reason people are not accomplishing their dreams is that they don't want it bad enough. That's all. They want the pride that comes with accomplishments, but don't want the process that comes with it. I need you to understand that you can't get the pride unless you go through the process. There are no shortcuts. The only way you're going to get to your dreams, you're going to have to see it in your mind first. Your mind has to get there first. Your mind will show you the way to your dreams. So you have to realize that you have to change your mindset while in pursuit of your dreams and desires. Quit waiting on the opportunity to come and go take the opportunity. Sometimes in life you got to quit waiting and start taking. You got to have that I want when I want mentality. Matthew 11 chapter 12 verse says, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. You have to understand that you're a part of the kingdom. When you think about someone taking something, you're probably thinking about somebody that stole something. But let me tell you this, you can't steal nothing that's already yours. Your dreams, your desires, your destiny, and your purpose is already yours. You just got to be bold enough to go take it. Take back what's yours, man. I want to put this in your mind. Don't just strive to be great. Strive to be a legend at what you do. Because legends never die. Even one day, you won't be here in the physical. But your legend and your legacy will keep on living. It will keep on impacting. I need you to be motivated by the fear of losing instead of the joy of winning. Because if you think you're going to lose, it will make you fight hard. You won't put in much effort if you know you're going to win. Let me leave you with this. Allow things in your life that is good for you. For instance, when our grandkids come to visit, we have water and we have sodas. You can go through and find half-empty water bottles throughout the house, but you will not find one half-empty soda can throughout the house. It's because the soda is good to them instead of the water, but the water is better for them. Start doing more of what's good for you instead of what's good to you. Remember, the sirens of greatness is going off inside of you. Do something about it. Do something with it. Give it effort. It's time to give your greatness to real you. Will the real you please stand up? Thank you for tuning in Real Talk with Reginald D. If you enjoyed the show, please share with anyone you feel that needs to take this journey with us on being a better you. See you next time.