Have It Your Way: Take A Page from Burger King To Empower Yourself to Go After The Life You Want

By Cassandra Mack

Burger King was on to something when they coined the phrase “Have It Your Way.” They’ve built a successful company and brand around the idea that you can have your burger any way you want it. What’s the rationale behind the brand? Simply put…If you are the one paying for the product, then you have the right to expect to have it just the way you want it.

I was thinking about the Burger King slogan, Have It Your Way and thought about how powerful our lives would be if we made this slogan the mantra for our own lives. Imagine how powerful your life would be if you adopted this same slogan as your personal mantra and allowed these four simple words to inspire you to go after the life you want with audacity and boldness. What do you think would happen? Without a doubt you would live above the limits and develop an attitude of positive expectancy that would carry over into every area of your life. The Bible reinforces this principle by teaching us to: Ask, Knock and Seek. Many people of African descent mistakenly believe that they do not have the power to create the life they want. As a result they hold themselves back and do not put 100% effort into their goals, plans and dreams. While it’s certainly true that we have more hurdles to climb, the power to create the life you want comes from within and not from any external force that seeks to oppress you. There are too many examples of African-Americans who are breaking barriers and creating visionary lives for any of us to allow anything external to hold us back.

Believe it or not, having it your way is the most tangible expression of personal empowerment, because implicit in this statement is the belief that you have the power to live your best life. But, having it your way also requires you to become fully responsible for your life. This means taking 100% responsibility for everything you want and don’t want in your life. It also means letting go of every excuse you’ve made to stay within your comfort zone.

If you want to change your life for the better you’ve got to be 100% intentional about every aspect of it. This includes: your love life, your career, relationships . No one is going to put in the work for you or give you the life you want on a silver platter. You’ve got to make it happen. I’ve devised some questions that will help you develop a plan to have it your way.

1. Is there anything in your life that you want to change, improve or eliminate? What are you currently doing about it?

2. Is there anything in your life – your career, relationships, finances, your emotions, your thoughts, your achievements that you are not taking 100% responsibility for? Now that you know that you are fully responsible for everything you want and don’t want in your life, what are you going to do to create your desired results?

Over the next few days, pay attention to the areas in your life where you want to make greater strides. Select one area. Put it on paper. Do one thing this week that will bring you closer to having it your way.

Cassandra Mack, MSW is the founder and President of Strategies for Empowered Living Inc. a New York based personal development company that offers educational workshops, coaching programs, consultation services and products designed to help people succeed in life and grow. She has written ten personal growth books including the highly-successful, “Cool, Confident and Strong: 52 Power Moves for Girls,” “Say It See It Believe It: The Affirmation Activity Journal for Girls,” and “From The Block To The Boardroom: Power Tools for Black Men and The Women Who Love them.” For more information visit her on the web at: www.strategiesforempoweredliving.com