ON THE ROAD TO "THERE"

There are so many people who only see you and your ability as a means to an end. Your talents are valuable in the eyes of others--and they may see them even when you don't. The thing that you view as a mere hobby, or means of relaxation or enjoyment causes some people to see dollar signs, and sends them to a drawing board to concoct their plan for your life--and the aim to make sure that you are forever beholden to them. 
It is amazing the number of people who are supposedly critical players in order for you to get "there". Some people have a way of making themselves and their services mandatory for your survival, when they aren't. It's important to know better. It's important to know whether "there" is where you want to be.

Too often, the plans of others ignore the fact that you are a human being, not a machine. Your services may be promised in situations where you have no intention of going. Your presence is arranged without your consent. Your words and actions are no longer your own, and you find yourself daily reading from someone else's carefully crafted script. Be leery of those who are always stressing what you HAVE to do because it is a part of "the territory". Beware of those who have no regard for your health, family, time, beliefs, or standards. One of the worst things in the world is to see someone abandon something that they once loved because they allowed someone else to turn it into a stress-inducing chore. If you're going to burn-out, let it be your idea.

Don't let ANYONE scam you into thinking that you need their assistance in order to succeed at that which you are already capable and skilled. Everyone's "help" is not intended to assist or promote YOU, but to further their own interests in an area they seek to infiltrate and establish themselves as a key player. Sometimes, people need you considerably more than you need them, and your inclination to be trusting will not allow you to see it until it is too late. Everyone who talks a good game is neither competent nor credible. Don't let ambition blind you to people who have an agenda upon which you are a temporary item. Some people who approach you with grand ideas don't have your best interest at heart, but a self-serving business plan. They're quick with comments to make you feel you don't have what it takes to be successful the minute you acknowledge that you DO have limitations.

Don't be surprised when you finally see through the motives of others and find that you were always considered dispensable. Don't be surprised to find that the reputation you thought you had has been amended with negative descriptions. Don't be surprised when those, who once had great plans to improve your lot in life, are just as eager to silence or destroy you. Secretly coveting the skills and talents of others cause some to seek to control, manipulate and mishandle those who actually possess them. Your refusal to go along with the plans and schemes of others may cause you to walk alone for a spell. It's okay. You may hear things about yourself that you don't recognize. You may find out that you were overlooked or missed out on opportunities because you refused to play people's games. It's okay. You don't have to fight back or retaliate. When people hang their success on your compliance and you don't comply, their true colors begin to show. When people don't get what they anticipated out of your effort, they aren't going to be happy, and will seek to make you even unhappier. They may even seek to shut you down altogether. Beware of those whose opinions and ideas are unwise, and whose assistance is self-serving.

Truth and justice have a wonderful way of showing up and shining a revealing light on every situation. Don't underestimate God's ability to use what people have devised to destroy you, as a firm platform to carry out his carefully made plans for your life. Un-forgiveness and bitterness, though seemingly justified, are never an option. Keep doing good. Keep working as if only for the approval of God. Keep improving. Keep the joy in what you do. Rest assured, you will be wherever you are intended to be, doing what you are intended to do--efficiently and successfully--if you remember your true source and always give Him the well-deserved credit. Remember God's promises; His truth, and always be true to yourself. Hard work does pay off, but at least one of the people who should benefit from your effort is you.