Have you ever been in a situation where your background seems to dictate your current life and your future? I certainly have.

I remember when I was young and ignorant, but I thought I knew everything. I made so many horrible mistakes, and in those mistakes I remember thinking "I’m always going to be a failure. I’m never going to amount to anything. Life is always going to be this hard. Why is it always good for other people, but never for me?"

But today I am so overwhelmed by all the amazing things that are happening. I feel so very blessed that I get to work with you, and that you are a person who does not want to stay stuck.

See, we all have challenges in our lives that could convince us things will never change or get better, that we’re going to be a failure for the rest of our lives.

I was 19 when I was introduced to the business world. I desperately wanted to get away from my horrific past — I grew up with parents who were drug addicts and I found out when I was 17 the man who raised me and abused me my whole life was actually not my father. My parents were welfare recipients who cheated the system to get more money.

But when I was 19, I was exposed to a life filled with wonder and possibilities and potential. I was introduced to a group of people who were completely different than anyone I’d ever met. They challenged me to think differently about life.

I had never even thought of going anywhere outside of the town I lived in, but they got me thinking about traveling. I discovered there was a huge world out there and we actually have the opportunity to go see it.

Do you want to go see the Great Wall of China? The glaciers in Greenland or Iceland? The Colosseum in Rome? Do you want to see the mountains in Peru, Argentina or Chile? Do you want to see the crystal clear blue waters of Bora Bora?

The group of business people I met at 19 years old caused me to open my mind to a huge world I didn’t even know existed. I am so grateful for that experience, because it started me on a completely different path that has been paved with all kinds of mistakes and failures, and some amazing, mind-blowing successes as well.

Today I get to travel all over the world. My husband and I just came back from a trip to Europe for our 20th anniversary. We started in Istanbul, Turkey. Wow, you should see this place! The architecture is beautiful, the bridges and the water are amazing, and the people were so pleasant. And the food was some of the best I’ve ever had!

We sailed from Turkey to Greece, and then to Rome. I’ve never wanted to go to Rome, but I was pleasantly surprised! There are layers upon layers of history, and so many different cultures.

When you travel abroad, your mind can begin to wrap around how big the world really is, and you start to see the layers of history. You are able to study so many different kinds of people.

That is something I have done for 25 years – I study people and their differences and backgrounds and how they think and what causes them to do the things they do.

I learned a long time ago that if you learn more about people than anything else, you will be unusually successful. And I have been unusually successful because of that!

And there really is no greater way to study people than to travel around the world! You can see why some cultures have risen and some have fallen. You discover what has been passed down from generation to generation and you gain a whole new perspective.

I want to encourage you to travel. Take your children around the world. Go beyond what is familiar. Go see different civilizations with your own eyes and experience how they think, what they eat, the mindsets they have had for generations, and how they live their lives. It will enrich your life and educate your children. It will give you a more well-rounded understanding of life.

Don’t try to tell me you don’t have the money to travel. You do! You’re just giving it to the wrong places — the coffee shops, the shopping sprees, the overstocked pantry and refrigerator. You have the money. Start putting it toward something that will be worth it!

I know you’ve probably wanted to travel. It’s time to mark that goal off the list! It’s NOT a far away goal that can never happen…go get it done!

I never imagined in a million years that someone like me could succeed in anything, or experience the pure joy of traveling around the world, or even feeding orphans and freeing sex slaves around the world!

And none of that would have been possible if I hadn’t met that group of business people who said, "Hey, have you ever thought about traveling around the world?" If they had never challenged me to think beyond what I was familiar with, I would have been robbed of all I’ve been able to learn through traveling.

Do not rob your friends and family members of the opportunity to travel the world and experience this for themseves! Pass this message along to them today! (Send via email, or post this on your social media sites.)

And now it’s your turn! Where do you want to go? Make a plan — where, when, and how much will it cost? Start directing your money to something you will benefit from for a lifetime.

In great faith,