Breakthrough begins with You!
Damon Walton

Breakthrough begins with You!
Introduction
Your next breakthrough begins with you! This book is about effecting a radical change in your life. Is about getting out the rut of the day to day life to go to the next level. I was one of the millions of people who needed a change in one's life. This book about providing a radical change in every aspect of life one has from the professional to the personal. What prompted me to write this book was based on life experiences I had with breakthroughs. I like most people, have a life where it consist of barriers and breakthroughs. I will talk about the common barriers we all face and how to break through them to achieve success in our daily lives. Some of you are wondering how I can help you and why me. To answer your first question, is to read the book. Read the following chapters with an open mind and don't pass judgment. The answer to the second question is that I applied the same advice to my life. Am I a celebrity, famous author, or a self-help guru? No, I am not but I am an ordinary person who effected change in my life through some radical yet common-sense principles. I am not writing this book to become a millionaire or to be famous in my right but effect change in our daily lives. We tend to listen to those who share a common background. Hopefully, my message will resonate with those who are looking for a breakthrough in their daily lives. We all are yearning for transformational change that is simple and effective. Thank you for beginning this journey with me, and it begins now with taking the first step. Chapter One: The first step begins with you!

The First Step Like a baby who takes his or her first step to learning to walk. Or when we speak our first words as a toddler to learn how to talk, it all begins with that very first step. The very same concept applies to breakthroughs. Breakthroughs are nothing more than goals that achieve positive changes in our lives. We all have had them at one point or another in our lives. By taking the first step, you will be achieving them on a consistent basis. That is the one thing we crave the most is consistency i.e. receiving a paycheck on a regular basis or three square meals a day. Breakthroughs can be the same way. When one is consistent at something, it implies one possesses a skill or at least a habit. Having positive breakthroughs on a consistent basis isn't about being lucky. It's about applying positive principles in a determined fashion that effects positive change. The first step is getting off your ass and looking yourself in the mirror and yelling at yourself in the mirror with: "The breakthrough begins right now!" Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but one must be self-aware enough to want it. The first step I took to effect change in my life. Yes, everyone can do it. The question does you have the willingness to do it.
Willpower
Taking the first step is predicated on your willpower. What separates those who achieve their breakthroughs and those who don't is willpower. It's that simple. Willpower allows one to set and achieve goals, break bad habits, and to achieve one’s wildest dreams. We all have it, but only some of us utilizes it to the fullest potential. The ability to focus one's willpower on a given goal to succeed is something extraordinary. Willpower applied on an individual or collective basis achieves outstanding results in our lives. We have seen examples of this from one man apply his willpower to inspire a movement. I am referring to Martin Luther King Jr. On a collective basis where we as a nation put a man on the moon.
There those who will tell you that, they don't possess willpower. What they are saying is that they are too lazy to employ it. That is one of the first barriers one has to break through to achieve personal success and positive change in one's life. One of the greatest weaknesses that we find in ourselves is laziness. 99.9999% of us possess this character flaw that stands in our way of achieving breakthroughs. It ranges from being too lazy to find a job to finishing school. Even I possessed this particular affliction as well in my early part of life. I am a college dropout who dropped out because I was too lazy to do the work. I was smart enough to do it but even lazier to not to finish the schoolwork. Fortunately, I am back on track to finish my degree in Criminal Justice. I graduate next October of 2016. There is a biblical term for laziness that is called sloth that is a deadly sin. Sheer laziness is one of the number one reasons people fail at achieving breakthroughs in their daily basis. The best way to counter this is by using your willpower. Lack of willpower will keep you in the same position, at the start line.
Once again the first step begins with you. I can’t do it for you and no one can. There will be those who can assist you and mentor you but at the end of the day the first step is yours to take. Look inside of you find that thing called willpower and exercise it. Continue to read on and we will discuss overcoming barriers. Chapter 2: Overcoming Barriers
Excuses are Barriers If you have made it this far, you have overcome the first barrier that is yourself. The second barrier consists of excuses and justifications. These are the things we tell ourselves this is why we can't do something or accomplish a goal. Some of these you may be familiar with; "I can't do this.", "It's too hard,", and "This is crazy!" Our greatest achievements will be brought to fruition when we’re completely exhausted and discouraged but keep working through our challenges. There will be those around you who want you to buy into your excuses and bulls—t! Why because once you succeed, you will be leaving them behind stuck in their excuses. Once you make that breakthrough, there will be those who will be threatened by it. You will be moving onto the next stage of your life where you will be able to achieve sustained breakthrough after breakthrough that will radically effect change in your life. Those same friends will become your adversaries like excuses that can stand those who are effecting positive change in their lives. They will be your adversary due to jealousy and envy for they lack the willpower to effect a similar change in their lives.
Barriers are escape clauses These escape clauses or barriers allow us to run from our problems and stop us from achieving our breakthroughs. Especially when it deals with pain and discomfort. Change begins from a place of discomfort. That when you know you have taken the first step. Once out of your comfort zone you begin to ask questions, become self-aware, and your eyes are open to new possibilities. All these things are necessary for achieving positive change in one's life which leads to establishing a breakthrough. Usually when we achieve a state of discomfort we tend to fall back on old habits and old excuses. Once we do that, we usually end up quitting. We have all at one time or another had quit at something. The only things we should quit are bad habits and excuses. Excuses stop us from dealing with our problems and challenges that we face in our daily lives. These problems and challenges are nothing more than opportunities for positive growth. In some ways, problems and challenges are hidden breakthroughs for personal growth and discovery. Excuses are the doors we must shatter and break down to realize our hidden potential for breakthroughs that will take us to the next stage of our lives. We must identify the daily excuses we use in our daily lives that stop us from achieving our breakthroughs. They usually start with maybe, but, and I can't. When we say maybe we are saying no in a polite way. When we say "but," we are saying I won't. When we say, "I can't," we are saying hell no. It's just another way preventing ourselves from experiencing pain and discomfort. Pain and discomfort is one of our number one fears. It's like working out to lose weight. It hurts at first to get back into shape. It's one of the things I hate doing, but I started working out to get back in shape. I had to fight through the pain and discomfort to lose the 15 pounds that were my goal at the time. I had a ton of excuses at first as I do it tomorrow, I will start in the summer, and I am too tired. We all have used these excuses. Once again these excuses are barriers to our breakthroughs and goals. We use them all the time in our daily speech. We delude ourselves into thinking that excuses are ok in ourselves and others. These barriers that first exist in our minds and are our prisons.

We defeat ourselves nine times out ten the person standing in our way is ourselves. Even though we blame others and external forces from achieving our breakthroughs, we must look the enemy in the mirror that wears our face. The enemy that defeats us is hiding inside of us this whole time. Yes, there will be people who hold us back from our dreams and goals. We must deal with them accordingly. The first adversary we must deal with is ourselves. We sabotage our goals and breakthroughs through lack of willpower, excuses, and self-defeat. People ask themselves why a person would sabotage his or her goals. Simply put they are afraid of the success or change a breakthrough may cause in their life. Most of us distrust change even when it's positive. When failure becomes familiar and comfortable, we prefer it to positive yet effective change. The difference between a rut and a coffin are the dimensions. One usually leads to another. Let’s not lay the final nail to our coffins when it’s dealing with breakthroughs. Chapter 3: A positive Mind is a Strong Mind!
Positive Mind is a State of Mind Our mindset determines everything that happens in our daily lives. Your mental attitude exists between two states; positive or negative. I will cover both mindsets in detail. It doesn't take a Ph.D. in psychology to understand what I am talking about when it comes to success. The most successful people in the world have this one common trait that exist among them. They all possessed a positive mindset that made them resilient to failures, misfortune, or sheer bad luck to overcome whatever obstacle in their way. All those negative things I mentioned is faced by us all. What sets us apart is how we respond to these challenges. As mentioned earlier in the book, challenges are opportunities for growth and exposure to hidden breakthroughs. Having a positive mindset means that you have the ability to adapt and overcome any barrier that is in front of you.
Success is not guaranteed and often paved with many failures along the way until we reach our goals and breakthroughs. During my 12 years in the Army, I spent a couple of them as a recruiter where I had to recruit young men and women to join the United States Army. It’s akin to being in a high-pressure sales environment where one's success is based on the number of people you have put in the Army. We trained in doing our job but one thing my instructor said resonated with me to this day. He said, "I can't teach you to have a positive mindset when dealing with rejection and negativity." "You either have it, or you don't." For the most part, I agree with him, but one can practice it and improve on their positive mental state. There are plenty of books out there that covers that. For every one person, I put in I had at least ten who told me no for one reason or another. I had to maintain a positive mindset to achieve my goals and to breakthrough to be successful at my job. Another famous anecdote is of Jim Carrey’s success. We know him from his early work such as Living Color when he did sketch comedy to famous movies as Dumb and Dumber. Part of this story was from is interview with Oprah back in 1997. According to Jim Carrey, he wasn't always famous but through his God-given ability to make those around him laugh and his positive mindset allowed him breakthrough to achieve the level of success and fame. When Jim Carrey was down and out on his luck in Hollywood, he wrote himself a check for 10 million dollars that he would be able to cash ten years from the date he wrote it. At first blush if someone did that and told their friends that they are going to be a multimillionaire ten years from now one would call that person stone cold crazy. Sometimes being right out of your mind is a requirement to make a ground shaking breakthrough in one's life. Jim Carrey wrote that check in 1985 and by 1994 had a couple box office hits that made him a bankable A-list star in Hollywood. At the same time, he was realistic in his goal because he knew it wouldn't happen overnight but was patient enough to realize his goal.
Positive Mind Killers Anything that distracts from a positive mindset is a Positive Mind Killer or PMK for short. These PMKs range from fear to bad addictive behaviors. These PMKs are barriers unto themselves which often than not stop us from having sustained positive breakthroughs that radically change our lives in a positive manner. The first one affects all which is fear. A little fear keeps us alive and too much paralyzes us from effecting meaningful change in our lives. Fear stops us from taking that first step to causing a breakthrough in our lives. Fear is one of the tools that the enemy that wears your face uses to keep you a prisoner. A breakthrough is nothing more than an open door that is only accessible after one has conquered their inner fears and demons. That door to radical positive change beckons us all. The key to open that door and free ourselves is a positive mindset. A positive mindset doesn't allow us to give into fear and despair. A positive mindset allows us to adapt and overcome any fear that holds us back from achieving our next breakthrough. The breakthrough begins with you overcoming our personal fears and worries. Those who give into their fears and worries have a stench of negativity that you don't want be around. People who possess a powerful yet positive mindset face and grapple with their fears head on or forever be held hostage to one's fears. Fears manifest themselves as excuses when we step out of our comfort zone to deal with our personal fears. There will always be those who will keep you in a state of fear to control you and not allow you make that personal breakthrough change your life. They operate out of a state of fear. Their fear forces them to control others for they lack the ability control themselves and their personal fears. Once you realize that you are living in a state of fear whether be fear of sickness or fear of death, you will set yourself free. In essence, that is transcendence, the ability to overcome your surroundings with an unshakable faith in your positive mindset that is the key to your breakthrough. Being fearless is to experience still fear but have the ability to overcome it with a positive mindset.
Addictive Behaviors Our minds are like swords that need to be well honed. To keep our mental edge sharp, we must lose the things that dull that razor sharp mental edge. Those things are usually addictive behaviors that control of our thinking and our lives. They range from drug abuse to unhealthy sexual behaviors that cloud our thinking. If one wants to establish sustained breakthroughs that take them to the next level one must cut out the addictive behaviors that are holding us back. These addictive behaviors differ from person to person, but we all have them from one degree to another. We justify these behaviors by saying we need these small vices to relieve stress or to fight boredom. We make excuses for our addictive behaviors. Again excuses are nothing more than barriers that keep us prisoner to the enemy within. Our addictive behaviors hold us hostage by preventing us from that radical change in our life which leads to transcendent behavior. Transcendent behavior allows to break from the negative aspects of ourselves like negative behaviors that keep us from effecting positive change in our lives. We are striving to the ultimate goal of transcendence, achieved through breakthroughs. We possess all the tools to establish the breakthrough of being free of our addictive behaviors. The first step begins with you. Owning up to what is holding you back from the next level. Looking the enemy in the eye who wears your face and taking no more excuses to free yourself. Yes, you can do it, and it starts now. Not tomorrow for tomorrow isn't promised. Exercising that thing called willpower which we all possess. The ability to focus and harness it to break the cycle of negative addiction behaviors that hold us prisoner. Having a positive mindset that will allow you to adapt and overcome in the face of this adversity. The most powerful tool in your arsenal is your mind and its a powerful equalizer. What we lack in God-given talent can be compensated with our minds. With our minds that possess a positive mindset makes the mind one the most powerful forces in the universe. Once again the first step to a breakthrough begins with your mind that can accomplish the impossible. Chapter: Accomplishing the Impossible!
Mantras
Mantras are nothing more than a short phrase or word that causes the mind to focus on concrete action in achieving a goal. The title of my book is a mantra: Breakthrough begins with you! Mantras have been around since the dawn of human civilization to motivate others as well as oneself to achieve difficult feats and goals that are deemed impossible. We see them in campaign slogans to fire up an electoral base to professional sports teams to motivate players. Maybe you heard of; "Yes we can!", "Live Strong!", and "I'm a winner!" Even when you have a positive mindset, you need something that can focus your willpower and inner strength. Mantras do that to great effect. Even when the task is difficult or seems unachievable, the mantra gets you back on track. Find a powerful mantra that defines where you are going and the goals you want to achieve. Say it out loud three times when you first wake up and before you go to bed. In the morning, that mantra will get you focused on achieving that stunning breakthrough that will radically change your life. When you say the mantra at night, it focuses the subconscious mind on the breakthrough or goal you want to achieve. One can't be passive in their personal breakthrough and must have an active mind to achieve the impossible. Achieving the impossible may seem daunting and undoable but even running a marathon begins with the first step. If you have read this far, it means you are serious about achieving your next breakthrough on a sustained basis. This book isn't for those who are satisfied with half-measures and comprises. Find your mantra to focus your willpower and your positive mindset.
Envision the End State
If the light switch hasn’t come on yet, let me slam the lights on for you! Achieving the impossible starts with your breakthrough. Everything begins with your willpower and springs forth from your positive mindset to envision the end state of your goals. The ability to envision your end state allows you to see your goal as an achievable task. We only use the word impossible because The barriers of negativity stand erected in our minds. Impossible is a mindset used by the enemy who wears our face who wants to keep us hostage to our negative thinking and emotions. Impossible make us be our jailer and prisoner at the same time. By envisioning our end state as an achievable goal that allows us to free ourselves to achieve our next breakthrough. Remember a breakthrough is nothing more than a doorway or launch pad to the end state of achieving your dreams and goals. One has to envision the end to start from the beginning. Once you have that end state crystallized in your mind act upon it! The difference between you and someone you see on T.V. or read about online is that they acted on their ideas and dreams. Many people are either paralyzed by fear or so ungodly lazy to act upon their dreams. Once you embrace a radical state of mind that consists of positivity and willpower, you will break free to achieve your next breakthrough. Once you make that change to begin your journey, there will be those who will stand in your way and doubt what you are doing. You will have your haters, doubters, and critics who can't stand those who seizes their next breakthrough. Achieving the impossible is in front of you, the question is, are you ready to take the first step? Your next breakthrough begins with you!
Confidence/Faith
Confidence radiates from the mind while faith radiates from the soul. You will need both to achieve your next breakthrough. Doubt and guilt rack many people in this world. They doubt their abilities and lack the faith to face the challenge in their lives. We will face obstacles and challenges in our daily lives. Is part of our spiritual, mental, and physical growth? Confidence in my personal opinion stems from absolute faith in oneself and even higher power. Remember the granddaddy of all self-help books is the Bible. It contains transcendent figures who were able to rise above their surroundings to effect radical change for themselves and others. Prayer is nothing more than a positive mindset where a Higher Power intercedes on your behalf to effect a radical change in your life i.e. the miraculous. The miraculous is going to happen once put these positive principles to work for you. The miraculous is nothing more than a breakthrough that has a super-extraordinary effect on your life in a positive manner. Once you have confidence, it becomes infectious because we all like being around others who radiate positive energy and confidence. Confidence is one of the few intangible qualities that can't be faked. It's a useful quality to have in achieving the impossible. Even when the odds are a million to one, having faith will allow you to be that one to overcome the long odds against you. The odds will be against you execute the impossible. There will be those who will tell what the odds are to dissuade you. By maintaining confidence and faith in your abilities to achieve the impossible will make you a winner. The foundation for your next breakthrough begins with having faith and confidence in one's abilities to achieve your next breakthrough! Chapter 5: Positive Breakthroughs vs. Negative Breakthroughs Some of you may be already achieving these breakthroughs I have been talking about these past few chapters. The question is how you have been achieving these breakthroughs. Negative breakthroughs are when you achieve your goal by stepping over others or using others to achieve your goals. Being selfish and controlling others to achieve results by any means possible. In modern day society, we are taught that the norm, me first attitude, to climb to the top. One can be ruthless in achieving what they want, but usually it leads to generating negativity in other people's lives as our own. One may achieve short term results but, in the long run, it catches up with you.
Bernie Madoff is a recent example of this. A famous money manager and an investor advisor for celebrity clients who ranged from professional athletes to movie stars. He ran a classic Ponzi that defrauded his clients out of billions of dollars due to his greed. The irony of this is even before this Ponzi scheme he was already wealthy from his legitimate businesses. He was defrauding his clients over decades. He was considered a financial success by the Wall Street crowd and the toast of the town especially when you can make money for others. It was all an illusion; his greed caused legitimate charitable foundation who invested with him to go out business. The individual and organizations that invested with him never recouped their losses. Eventually, his run came to end, and he is spending time in a federal correctional facility. If one is about an experience, a breakthrough let it be positive where others around benefit from it in a positive fashion. As a reminder, this book is about using these principles for the good of yourself and others around as well. We all have a direct impact on the folks around us whether it be in negative or positive fashion.
Achieving positive breakthroughs is about transcending one’s environment to move to the next level in one’s journey. There will be physical manifestations of your breakthroughs from money, a promotion at your job, and maybe even fame. And yet these are only signposts marking your journey along the way. Don’t let them become traps or distractions from achieving your ultimate potential.