We all get hurt sometimes. It’s just part of life. And we all carry hurt with us from the past. Whether it was a father who didn’t protect us, a mother who abandoned us, a brother who bullied us, a sister who wasn’t there for us. Maybe it was a friend who stabbed us in the back. A classmate who made fun of us on the playground in first grade. A teacher who told us we could never become successful. A spouse who doesn’t support us. A coworker who gossips about us. A boss who treats us unfairly.

No matter what – or who – hurts us, we must make a decision. But it takes a certain level of maturity to make this decision.

You see, it’s never circumstances that determine your success in life, in business, in your family. HOW you choose to deal with those circumstances makes all the difference.

And sure, forgiveness may seem like a great idea. But in reality, most people never act on it. It’s easy to talk about, but actually doing it can be a whole different story.

Unforgiveness will keep you in bondage. It will keep you from taking risks. It will limit your earning power. It will keep you stuck in a rut for the rest of your life. My friend, unforgiveness will rob you of your destiny.

But forgiveness… forgiveness will set you free!

The only reason I’m here today is forgiveness. The only reason I have authority to talk about forgiveness today, is because I have experienced it. I made the conscious decision to forgive people in my life who hurt me.

This might have more impact, when you hear this story. You see, I was raised in a violently-abusive home, where I was physically, emotionally, verbally and sexually abused daily – molested from the time I was 3 until 16. I was held up against the wall by my throat while my father called me every vile, disgusting, horrible name in the book. I was harshly judged and criticized. On top of that, my parents were total drug addicts. Then my husband abandoned me for another woman and stole EVERYTHING from me, leaving me homeless – with $2.03 to my name and a $35,000 debt.

As a result, I had all this anger and bitterness built up and trusted no one. That is, until I was presented the idea of forgiveness.

Before you get your panties in a wad, you have to understand forgiveness is not a “churchy” or religious thing. In fact, the first time I was confronted with the issue of forgiveness, was in a business training! And I learned, forgiveness is essential if you want to succeed.

When confronted about forgiveness, I had a choice to make. I could continue with my anger, rage, judgment and distrust, which were NOT helping me to become who I wanted to be. Or, I could choose to forgive!

I did not want to be like my family – a failure in my finances or relationships. But my anger and rage caused me to live my life in a totally unhealthy way. NOBODY benefited from being around me. And most importantly, it actually hurt me. It was as though I was rotting from the inside out… an open wound oozing nasty, green pus every day. It oozed out of my mouth, in the form of hateful things I would say about my family, as well as, all the men and women around me.

I so desperately wanted to succeed, but truthfully, if you’ve got issues with judgment and pain or bitterness and resentment, it can’t help but spew out of you. And this prevents you from working with people effectively. It even causes you to do stupid things, like going into debt for stuff you don’t need.

I know, you’re thinking – “How in the world could being hurt cause you to go into debt?!” It’s because you’ve got this big gaping hole you’re constantly trying to fill with “stuff.”

After working with tens of thousands of people and seeing the things preventing them from achieving the financial success they want, I’ve observed a major thing capable of stopping them dead in their tracks: pain from their past.

Actually, we talked about this recently on our TV/radio show and I had several callers who shared their stories about the incredible pain they faced in their lives, and how that pain impacted them physically, emotionally, mentally, socially. They shared how bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness robbed them for years, until they came face-to-face with a decision to forgive.

Man, this was such a powerful show! The stories of forgiveness and redemption we heard were so inspiring and heartfelt.

And the truth is, it proved forgiveness has the power to set a person free.

I know it, because I’ve seen it tens of thousands of times… and experienced it myself.

And today, I want YOU to know it and experience it, as well. Forgiveness is a choice. You can choose to hang on to bitterness and resentment, or you can choose to forgive and free yourself from the pain of your past.

As I said earlier, it takes a high level of maturity to choose forgiveness, a high level of maturity to release the anger, bitterness and resentment… so you can move forward in your life.

My friend, I believe in you and so excited to watch you move forward and even exceed your own expectations to fulfill your destiny. It starts here, and it starts today – so let me know how YOU’RE going to start on our Facebook page!

In great faith,

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