Good morning everyone, and welcome to the bed head chronicles.

Today, I want to talk about this amazing quote that a dear friend of mine sent to me the other day. It says "Everything you are going through is preparing you for what you asked for."

Let me begin by going back to when I was an athlete. I remember some of the hardest things that happened like getting injured when I was in my prime fitness and ready to go race. I'd get a running injury that would stop me from running. I would think it was the end of the world, but what it did mean is that what I could do is swim and bike. The swim was my absolute weakness. And my bike definitely needed help.

So, if you would look at this saying, "Everything you are going through is preparing you for what you asked for," I wanted to be the best in the world in triathlon. I wanted to be the best that I could be and I hoped that could lead me to be one of the best.

In order to do that, I needed to become a good swimmer and biker. The times I would get a running injury and be unable to run for two to three months, I would swim 1000 meters a week and bike however many thousand meters a week. That would improve my swim and bike where I was able to win a world championship. There is a gift in every struggle.

Granted, acute myeloid leukemia is a challenge that is beyond anything I could imagine. But when I think about this quote, I found my freedom in my twenties. What I mean by that is I found freedom from my fears, anxieties, and torture that I was living inside my own body and mind.

Through the process of triathlon, I found a love, appreciation, and acceptation for myself, which led to my mission of wanting to be fearlessly authentic in my life. Just being true to me, my beliefs and my values. And having found that freedom -- going from a place where I didn't want to live to wanting to live to be a million years old -- that freedom that comes from self-love and acceptance is the most glorious freedom you can dream of having, in my opinion.

Now that I have found my freedom, so much in part due to Tony Robbins and his influence in my life, everything I've learned from him through his books and CDs about focusing on what you want and how the meaning we give things can change our entire experience of life, it's a gift that I want to provide everyone on the planet with. If somehow I could inspire them through words or through storytelling, encouragement or inspiration -- whatever it is, I've said to God in my prayers that in this lifetime I can truly take this beautiful gift of life and do everything with it that God has hoped I would do. Be able to touch many lives, humans or animals, as I possibly can in the most beautiful and powerful ways. To be able to take everything that I've learned that has brought me to a place in my life where I can feel and experience true love and give my love freely. To share everything that I've learned and touched another person's life in a way that can bring them to their own personal freedom or new levels of joy and achievement or fulfillment, most importantly, that's a dream come true for me. That's a desire in my life.

I see life as such a beautiful gift. It's a privilege to be given this life and make it what we want it to be. I believe the greatest way to show thanks for this gift of life is by giving back. Maybe giving back is all about becoming more -- becoming more so that you can give more, inspire more and create more in this life that can make a positive difference.

If this challenge ahead of me, or this challenge that I am in right now, is going to allow me to give that much more -- to have more of an impact on other humans and on the animals in this world, then it will be the most beautiful gift. I believe that that is what this is all about. I have asked God, the universe, to help guide me to be able to make a beautiful impact in this world and in people's lives. To share the love, light, and fulfillment I feel in my heart with everyone; and perhaps this challenge is what's going to allow me to do that to a greater extent. That's my hope. That's my dream. That's what will inspire me. I am going to give this everything I have: heart, soul, and spirit.

The love and the support that it has been sent to me from all around the world means everything to me. It will be what I focus on, what I remember, what I soak in, in those toughest moments. So thank you. Love is healing. Love is strengthening. Love is everything that we all need to be the very best that we can be every day in our lives. Whether it's going through a tremendous challenge or just trying to be our best selves for others.

Thank you for listening to my Bed Head Chronicles. It means the world to me that somehow there's something in this that is touching your life and I hope to continue to be able to do this. To me, being home -- it's Christmas. I have you know everything I need with me here. Most importantly my wife, my mom, my animals, the horses -- I get to be home for Christmas. And that's the ultimate gift.

I will keep you all in the loop as I continue learning and growing on this journey, and I thank you for your love. I thank you for your support. To all of you have an amazing Christmas, a beautiful holiday. Know that I love you. I appreciate you. And all I want is blessings and light for all of you today and every day. Thank you.

For more tips and advice about living an authentic life go to https://www.sirilindley.com/authentic/