Contributor: Angelo Limon of angelolimon.com. From the author: “I started my blog to prove to you that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from or what you did in the past. The only thing that matters is who you want to become and where you want to go.”
Hi, I’m Angelo Limon. I’m a reader, writer and blogger. I remember when I was in high school, I hated to read, write and didn’t even know what blogging was–that was back in 2006! After high school I went to study Chemical Engineering in The Netherlands. Can you imagine a young man, 18 years old, flying to The Netherlands from Aruba, who has no father figure or siblings, only a caring mother who did her best to raise her son?
Once I arrived in The Netherlands, I was like a little man in a big and fast-paced world. At home I could drive myself or got a lift; now I had to take trains, bus and metro’s everywhere. I was used to having dinner made for me; now I had to go to the supermarket myself, cook my own meals and pay my own rent. I went from being taken care of to looking after myself, with no one to tell me anything!
While living my new life I was exposed to things I never experienced before, most of which could derail anybody from their goals in life, like smoking weed and cigarettes, drinking alcohol, going to house parties, experiencing peer pressure, skipping class and other things I’m not proud of. I met new people who weren’t good for me, but I still found myself hanging around them. Did you ever felt like something wasn’t good for you, but still did it? That was me!
I was led many times down the wrong path, but fortunately I had a some will power to make the right choices most of the time. I should have gone to prison a few times for some of the things I did, but I never got caught! I did come in contact with the law a few times–after a night of heavy partying and drinking, walking back home peeing outdoors is a no-no in The Netherlands, but when you got to go, you got to go right?
All jokes aside, in my last year of school I took a little break before completing my last internship. Here is where I started to think deeply about my future and what I wanted to do with my life after I graduated. I knew I didn’t want to just keep studying or working forever and paying bills till retirement!
I went back to Aruba for the summer, but this vacation was different, because I knew something was going to happen to me that would change my course of life. So said, so done: I found a book on a night table at my in-laws: Joseph Murphy’s The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind.
This book got me started with personal development. Then, when I came back to The Netherlands I bought Napoleon Hill’s Think & Grow Rich as well.
Today I can truly say my life has changed for the better, because these books informed me that I had the power to change my life.
The secret, as I see it, is this: you become what you think about most of the time!
I found out that everything starts with my thoughts–they control my feelings and actions. My thoughts and actions in the past had me in the current situation I was in, so if I wanted to change my current results, I had to change the way I think–that simple!
Today I am proud to have my bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering and a loving loving wife and daughter who I care about so much.
I know how it feels to have no money left during or at the end of the month: it sucks! Feeling lost, confused and scared about the future was something normal for me. I can look back at the past and learn from my mistakes–and look forward and believe in myself to build a better and brighter future for myself and my family!
Sincerely,
Angelo Limon