Sometimes, people will put limits on us. On land, on cruise ships, and in any environment in this world. Adversity should serve us only as a boost of extra motivation to achieve our goals. When I was 11 years old, we had a school marathon. Many weeks before that marathon, I ran daily at the nearby football stadium to prepare myself for this race. Determined to win and compete with my limits, I worked hard while all my friends used that time to play or watch television. In the morning on race day, my teacher approached me at our meeting point and asked me in front of all the other kids: 

"Do you have proper running shoes for this race?" 

I only had one pair of old clumsy, dusty shoes I used for school, birthday parties, and playing outside on the street. Ashamed and embarrassed, holding my tears back, I answered: "No, I have only this pair of shoes." Without any compassion, my teacher added, "Look, boy, some other kids are into track and field sport now, and they are expected to win this race. Do not get discouraged because you are not going to win today. It is just a fun race, put it that way." 

Because of what she said to me, I thought I would never win; with a lack of self-confidence, I watched those kids around me with brand-new shoes and new sporting clothes. Before I even realized it, I started to doubt my chances.

About 100 meters before the finish line, I realize I am still full of unused energy. I started running as fast as I could. Shortly after, I took the lead and won that race! All my teachers quickly approached me, and instead of greeting me, they were in disbelief; with confused facial expressions, they asked me how I managed to win. 

We should never let someone tells us where our real limits are. We should never let anyone wrongly convince us that we are not good enough to achieve our dreams. They don't know what we went through to become who we are today! 

It's easy to stay productive when everything goes well around us. True-life warriors are the people who will produce their best even when life gets bitter. Difficult life circumstances might keep us from achieving desired goals, but in the long run, that will make us stronger and lead us to a more resilient version of ourselves. We should never give up, regardless of the difficulties. Even If we are meant to fail at specific tasks, we should learn how to fail forward. Keep trying. We are capable of achieving miracles in this world. We should not worry about what other people say. If we are only trying to focus our energy on pleasing everyone else around us, that becomes a one-way street, and we are heading in the wrong direction. Pleasing society's expectations will only make us feel empty. We are all much better than that; our potential is limitless. Great things will happen when we work hard to shape our unique skills. We need to focus on developing our strengths rather than achieving crowd expectations. Overcoming our past mistakes plays a significant role in achieving our desired goals. We should never allow ourselves to remain trapped as a prisoner in the chains of our past. We must get over it and realize that everything happens for a reason. Even if it does not look like sometimes, we are supposed to be on our way to glory. One step at a time; patience is the golden skill. 

Stop chasing money

I have tried my best to stay determined while working on cruise ships. I aimed to remain focused, refresh regularly, and move on after failure. We often sacrifice the precious moments of today by recalling past events that we can not change anymore or worrying about the uncertain future that might not even arrive. 

Social awareness is essential, but we should stop comparing ourselves with others. Indeed, we are perfectly created—unique, strong, and skilled. 

Should we all be pilots, doctors, lawyers, sports superstars, and pop singers? Are those missing pieces of real recipes for achieving lasting happiness? Maybe for some people in this world. For those people who have a "destination" disease. 

We should chase our unique passion for leaving a lasting legacy. What drives us to get up from our bed every morning? What picks us up after our failure when we get hurt? It is hidden deep inside our hearts if we did not find that motivation yet. We must look harder, go into nature, relax, and spend some time in silence. We should create an environment where we will be inspired and discover our greatest gifts. Because when we do so, at that very moment, life will change forever. Ultimately, we will put ourselves in a position to create an amazingly positive difference in this world. 

Money does not make a lasting impact on our happiness, indeed. It is only a temporary relief that leaves us in our comfort zone. Real, permanent happiness is all about finding our purpose. Money comes afterward as a natural chain reaction. While being on the cruise ships for a long time, I wondered what we were all doing better than anyone else. 

Indeed, we all have some unlocked treasures and unique gifts yet to be discovered. That specially crafted gift will lead all of us to the road to true happiness. Once found, It will show us our real meaning in this world and bring us lasting joy. When we experience setbacks, we move on, simple as that. Things happened; we accepted the temporary pain, held our breath for a few seconds, got up back on our feet quickly, and tried even harder. 

We all need to accept the fact that perfection does not exist. What matters the most is that as long we keep trying and keep moving forward regardless of any circumstances, it is only a matter of time to succeed. 

While working on the cruise ship, I have adopted one positive mindset- I want to think about 1 million reasons why something will work, not 1 million reasons why it won't work. 

We shall preserve our lasting legacy no matter what life throws in front of us or how hard life hits on us with the most challenging shot. Meanwhile, we can not control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we react to it. While sailing through the storm,  suddenly, we realize that the shore is closer than we thought. At the end of the day, we will find a way; we will always find an excuse if we do not wish to. It's our call. The future is waiting. Now, go and get it. Be brave and believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody will. You have to build determination and a permanent desire to succeed...