There was a time I thought no one saw me.

I felt invisible.

I felt like the good in the world bypassed me and only the bad found me.

I connected well in thought, though not in reality, with the character portrayed in the movie “Cipher in the Snow.”

The movie tells the heartwrenching story of a teenage boy who dies unexpectedly stepping off a school bus. One of his teachers is asked to notify the boy’s parents and write his obituary. The teacher was listed as the young boy’s favorite, though he barely knew the student. “Shy and ostracized,” the movie description reads, “the boy was a ‘cipher’ — an unknown number in a class roll book.”

That was me.
An unknown.
A cipher.

At least that’s the story I told myself.

But like many stories, this one was fiction. Horrible fiction at that. But it was very believable like many fiction stories, and it felt very real.

Such is the power of the story I was telling myself. And such is the power of the story you are telling yourself.

The words you speak to yourself have tremendous beauty and power.

They build, uplift, and encourage. Words paint pictures descriptive enough to transport you to a faraway place. Powerful words, both spoken and written, have transformed people and changed the world. Freedom for countries and people has been brought about by the power of words.

The words you speak to yourself also have the power to destroy.

Empires and countries have been literally destroyed by the power of words. Politicians constantly assassinate the character of their opponents. Families have been torn apart. Young children have become ciphers, literally nobodies, from the words consistently spoken to them.

I once spoke those defeating words.
I once lived that story.
I was once a cipher.

But not anymore.

I discovered how to create a better story.

How?

Years of consistently creating, rewriting, and acting out my new story.

The process was hard. It hurt. Too often I wanted to give up. And sometimes I did. Often I retreated back into the familiar safety and comfort of my old story. I didn’t want to shed my old skin.

Yet, in the process, I discovered the new story was the story that had been inside me all along. I just had to discover it.

“AS A MAN THINKETH”

Last week I reached out for suggestions on how you get back up, create a better story, and tell that story consistently.

One person shared morning mantras were her go to. When she consistently recited them she kept her thinking positive. Another shared the importance of regular prayer and scripture time. Running and working out were also suggested.

A friend from my hometown of Richfield, Dave Ogden, who is also currently serving as mayor, shared, “I also memorize and the stories that I consistently tell myself are indeed the ones that come true.”

Dave went on to share his love for his wife Lana, saying she is a “wonderful caregiver and I have been so blessed to have her by my side… Because of that and my loving Buddy and Julia (my wife Elisa’s parents), I share a thought that I have been passing to children and grandchildren for the last few weeks.”

“Mind is the master power that molds and makes
And man is mind and ever more he takes
The tools of thought and shaping what he wills
Brings forth a thousand joys a thousand ills.
He thinks in secret and it comes to pass.
His life is but a looking glass.”
— James Allen, As A Man Thinketh

WHAT HAVE YOU DISCOVERED?

My journey of creating, telling, and knowing my new story, a journey which continues today, has helped me discover…

I had never been a cipher.
I had always been important.
I had always been visible.
I had always been loved.

The same is true for you.

I see you.
I love you.

More importantly,

God sees you.
God loves you.

Have you discovered it?

Have a great Monday! Thanks for letting me share.

Les

p.s. Take 13 minutes (twice) today to enjoy watching “Cipher in the Snow.”

REMEMBER…

“The story you most consistently tell yourself will be the story to most consistently come true in your life.”

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