Inspirational Ateeq Hussain is a Huddersfield businessman who changed his mindset and changed his life. Here’s his latest monthly Monday Motivation blog.

If you’re anything like me you’ll know how utterly depressing it is to follow the status quo all the flippin’ time, like your life depends on it.

I know the anxiety and stress to constantly trudge day after day into a dead end job that I loathe – a job that I can’t leave because it pays the bills and puts food on the table. It’s no joke, I’ve been there so I should know.

To spend all day away from the people you love, so that you can all look normal – smile in public, keeping up appearances they call it – because that’s just how it is.

And besides, there is only one right way to live, isn’t there? The way that’s been chosen for me by people from way on high that know better, who have all the pre-requisite qualifications and belong to the proper social class to decide what’s best for me and my family, isn’t it?

At times it’s like being caught in quicksand, no matter what I do, how much I wriggle, the messages have been constant, work hard so you can get good grades, so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you don’t starve so you can have good kids who’ll do you proud by working hard, getting good grades…And the cycle continues…

I also know how hard it feels to fix up half a lifetime’s worth of neglect, negativity and conformity – and it all starts with two little words – ‘it’s possible.’

READ MORE: Ateeq writes a monthly blog for Huddersfield Hub

No matter how arduous, hard or stressful the journey, it’s possible. It’s possible for you – anytime you want – to start out on a better direction, leading to a better destination. Just keep telling yourself it’s possible.

I know you can’t see it now but if you want it bad enough it will begin to manifest itself around you, in the things you see, the people you meet and the ideas you think about.

I’ve taken this opportunity to share a small section of Les Brown’s famous speech on this topic, he says:

“So what I want you to do is think about something you want for you, that’s real for you, that’s important for you, that will give your life some special meaning and power. And I don’t even want you to say I can do that. I don’t want you to assume that.

“See, five years ago when I started out in this area, I would not have been able to make the mental leap that I would be up to where I am right now.

“I don’t want you to begin to just psych yourself out. No, no, I want you to be able to say something to yourself that will enable you to maintain a level of integrity with yourself, that when you say this even when you face tremendous setbacks, it will be a benchmark to keep you in the game, to keep you moving forward and experimenting and readjusting your strategy and your plan of action continuously looking for ways to win.

“So what is that something? When you’ve got an idea you want to move on. You might not have the money, you might not have the education, you might not have the support or the resources you need.

“What is that something that can keep us going, that will enable us to act on our dream? What’s one of those keys that will begin to help us to discover the secrets to our dream?

“Here’s what I want you to repeat after me please with power and conviction, say: ‘It’s Possible.’

“It’s all I want you to do when you look at your dream, just say to yourself every day: It’s possible. Just say that every day to yourself: it’s possible. Because what does that do?

“See, it begins to change your belief system. So the way in which we operate, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a manifestation of what we believe is possible for us.

“Whatever you’ve done up to this point, all that it really is, is a duplication, is a reproduction of what you believe subconsciously that you deserve and what’s possible for your life.”

Wow! What a guy, I thought. He did not allow his past, his upbringing or his environment to hold him back.

You must remember Les Brown’s background. He was born in an abandoned building and both him and his twin brother were brought up by their foster mother.

They never knew who their biological mother was. I listen to this speech often, especially when facing challenging problems. I remember how these words had a deep and lasting impact on my character and subconscious.

The American actor, Denzel Washington, who worked as a dustbin man in his younger days, said something similar, which I love: “True desire in your heart, for anything good, is God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, that it’s yours already.”

We’ve all got gifts, talents, skills and abilities that could make the world a much better place, improve the lives of millions of people, not to mention our own lives and those closest to us, but do we have the belief and the conviction that it’s possible?

Or are we content to let others go for their dreams while we slave away to the status quo?

Imagine the life you could have if you really wanted, it’s possible!

Ateeq