The evening news is full to the brim of all of the challenges we face as a society. There is volatility in the air. There is disruption in the marketplace. We are all swimming in a sea of uncertainty and ambiguity. Life gets more complex all the time. It feels a little bit like the days of the Wild West again in America. Feeling sorry for yourself? Considering slapping your victim card down on the table so you can ask the government to bail you out of the jam you’re in?

The cavalry is not coming. Nobody is riding in your direction to save you. If you’re going to have any success in this life, you need to recognize that there is a reason that people say “God helps those that help themselves.” Let me be perfectly clear, what is going on in the world today is challenging, and it’s certainly easy to get discouraged or defeated by the challenges and the adversity that you face. Still, the moment in front of you represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. Change is coming. Good change. Positive change. Transformative change. It’s coming, and it is going to keep coming. In fact, it’s going to accelerate and begin coming faster. Embrace it, and proactively get on the right side of all of this change. It is an opportunity for you, not a problem. Learn and master the skills you need to master the opportunities that are coming your way. Earn the right to ask for the order, ask for the promotion, ask for the raise, ask for the bonus, ask for the stock options. All you have to do is to create value for others consistently, and your value will increase in the marketplace. Earn the right to become a consistent Ultra-High Performer.

Technology is being re-imagined right now. The way we work is being re-imagined right now. The way we live and travel is being re-imagined right now. Show up. Get out on the playing field. Take your shot. Prepare yourself for greatness, then get in the game. Challenge yourself to become the master of your destiny. Don’t leave it to chance. Don’t wait on the cavalry, because they aren’t coming. Prepare yourself for the challenge. Rely on yourself and on your team. Count on yourself. Take action yourself. It’s completely within your control. It’s completely in your hands. What you do from here will dictate what happens next. What you do next will decide whether you will die or survive. The actions you take will determine whether you will struggle or thrive. It’s in your hands. I don’t know about anyone else, but I kind of like being responsible for the life I live. I don’t want that in someone else’s hands. I don’t have a victim card. I’m slapping down my “I want to compete” card!

The best thing about this life is that we live in a free country and we get to choose…. So, what’s it going to be, victim card or “I want to compete” card? Are you going to look at your current situation like it’s a problem or are you going to start seeing it for the opportunity it really is?

Michael Beach is a proactive and positive thinker who founded a coaching and consulting company so that he could help C-Suite Executives and Business Owners to thrive. Michael and his fellow coaches work with Emerging Leaders so that they can become confident and self-determined as they begin to flex their leadership and management muscles. If you’re tired of all of the negativity and doom and gloom on the evening news and want to stop living in fear so that we can get back to solving the world’s problems, let us know by adding your two cents to this article. Share this article with 2 or 3 of your friends and colleagues if you like it, and give it a like. Then go wade into the water and do some damage!