Extra — forged yellow gold wedding ring

Life is a picture, draw it. Life is a road, walk it. Life is a book, read through it. Life is transformation, change with it. 

Each of us are blacksmiths who forge our own destinies. How often have you heard someone say that? Yet we assign so little meaning to it, so eager to fall in line with circumstances and events rather than changing them. Evolution has endowed us with unknowably vast wealth. It gave us consciousness, opportunity and potential. 

Why do some people seem capable of anything and others seem to stand in place? Why do some succeed and others continuously drop the ball? The answer’s simple - everything is in our heads. To change your life, you must first change yourself. 

If your goal for tomorrow is to have something that you did not have yesterday, then your actions must be different today. If your circumstances aren’t to your liking, then by all means - the exit is just over there. Go beyond the confines of ‘now’ and build a new one for yourself. 

The world is not iron or steel. In the hands of an artisan, the world is soft, pliable, endlessly malleable. You are the most important person in your life. Feel that. Deluge yourself the conceptualization of your own perfection. Be incredible, healthy, energetic, genuine. Smile, love and rejoice in every moment and do not heed misfortune. 

Create circumstances in which you’re at your best. Make it a habit to give thanks and feel joy. May your happiness be as constant as brushing your teeth or washing your face. 

Do what you promised to do and pursue your goals tirelessly. The process won't take terribly long, as your heart is certain to give you the answer you need. Love the life you live. Take care of the world around you and the world will care for you in return. 

Life is not a flat, smooth foundation. Life is the work of an artisan who shaped it with their own hands. It is not a masterpiece that was miraculously produced in just a few minutes. The artisan made many mistakes, thought things over and sometimes despaired. But every moment of their careful, focused work brought them one step closer to their goal. 

Even moments of pain, tears or indignation bring you closer to self-realization. The evolution of civilization was no easy affair, either. But simply look at the world we live in today and imagine what world we will be living in 20 years from now. 

There are limits to perfection, for perfection is a single person.