Michael ByrdLife's Little Instruction Book: Living Your Best Life
Unwanted. Abused. Damaged. This was the foundation of my life. I was born to a sixteen-year-old mother who did not want me. Even the birth itself was traumatic and the doctors suggested abortion, but my grandparents intervened. This lifetime of inconvenience that I had caused my mother led to a cycle of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. When I was finally out on my own, I did what I could to not only survive but to find success. However, I found myself in a repetitive self-destructive cycle from which I could not break free. As the pattern would repeat itself, I would see my mother's face and hear her voice screaming at me, degrading me, humiliating me, and beating me down yet again. She would tell me how much she hated me and that I had ruined her life. This self-destruction involved years of drug and alcohol abuse as well as problems with insomnia. I hated my mother. I was introduced to drugs and alcohol at a very young age to make me more comfortable and compliant with the acts I had to perform. My life was filled with chaos, dysfunction, and a burning desire to make it all go away. When I was finally allowed to move out of my parents' house at midnight on my eighteenth birthday, I never looked back except with hatred and a promise that I would make something of myself, no matter what. But every time I was close to success, that self-destructive cycle of ego, anger, and fear would come and cause me to destroy my life, my businesses, and relationships. It was inevitable. I went through the process of rebuilding myself and my life again and again. That type of motivation is rarely, if ever, sustainable. I was in constant survival mode, always up against imagined enemies and the memories that caused me so much pain. But then something changed. I realized that if I were to ever break free from the bondage of my past, I had to take responsibility for my choices in life and forgive myself, forgive those who had hurt me, and begin working on myself, from the inside out. "O people, can I not do with you as this potter does?" "Look carefully, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand." Jeremiah 18:6 There has always been something about clay, the Potter's Wheel, and what that represents. For as long as I can remember, I always felt like I was made for something. Something special, something unique, and something only I could do. It was time to be molded into something new. I began to listen to people like Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, Bruce Lipton, and other influencers like them, as well as going through therapy. And at my therapist's suggestion, I stopped all social media and checked out of the world to find myself--and seek God. I spent forty days alone up in the mountains on my ranch, just me and my dog, Magnum. During this time, I reconnected with God and reviewed my life up to this point. It was during these forty days that this book--with the lessons I had gleaned in life--was birthed. "Life's Little Instruction Book" will inspire you and encourage you to live your best life ever. Realize your POTENTIAL, discover your PASSION, and live your PURPOSE!
