Hello and welcome to Uplifted Living, the podcast for Living Uplifted. I'm Nick Gilbert, and I want to thank you for tuning in today. As a lifelong learner in the field of education, I aspire to acquire and share knowledge that inspires, so I hope you're ready for today's episode. There's a scene in the Great Gatsby that almost everyone remembers. Gatsby, standing at the edge of his dock on a quiet summer night, reaching toward a distant green light across the bay. That light is small, barely visible, but to Gatsby, it represents everything he's ever wanted. Love, success, identity, a future that feels just out of reach. And here's the question. Was Gatsby's belief in his dream, a strength or a beautiful illusion? Today we're using Gatsby's story to explore the power of self-belief, not the glossy motivational poster version, but the kind that requires honesty, courage, and deep inner trust. Because sometimes belief can inspire transformation, and sometimes belief can blind us. Welcome to the episode, the green light within. Jay Gatsby wasn't born Gatsby. He was born James Gatz. Poor, unknown, and invisible to the world he dreamed of belonging to, but he believed fiercely that he could become someone new. Through pure vision and relentless determination, James Gatz invented Jay Gatsby. He curated his voice, his clothing, his persona. He studied success until he embodied it." He sprung from his platonic conception of himself." Gatsby didn't just dream about the life he wanted. He lived every day as if he were the man he imagined. And people believed in him because he believed in himself. But here's the shadow side. Gatsby's belief depended on one thing. He could not control Daisy, her love her approval, her validation. His dream wasn't grounded in who he truly was. It was attached to someone else's acceptance. When belief attaches itself to external validation, it stops being belief and becomes obsession. We do this too, don't we? We tie our worth to roles or relationships or metrics or what other people think of us, we reach outward instead of inward. Let's talk about healthy versus unhealthy self-belief. Healthy self-belief says, I know who I am becoming. I trust the process. Unhealthy self-belief says if I just get that job, that person, that validation, then I'll be enough. Gatsby believed so intensely in his dream that he ignored every sign of reality. He didn't see Daisy for who she actually was. He saw a symbol of his own significance. Self-belief is powerful, but when it becomes denial, it becomes dangerous. So here's a question for you. What is your green light? Is it a relationship, a title, a version of yourself you think will finally be good enough? And a deeper question, are you chasing that dream because it reflects your truth or because you hope achieving it will finally make you feel worthy? Here's a practice you can do this week in your journal. Think of a time when you believed in yourself despite the evidence. What did that belief teach you? Afterwards, close your eyes, take a breath, and say to yourself, "I am already becoming the person I've been reaching for." Self-belief isn't reaching outward. It's growing inward. Near the end of the novel, Fitzgerald writes, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us." Maybe the green light was never meant to be reached. Maybe it was a reminder that the act of believing, the act of becoming is what moves us forward. Gatsby reached toward a light across the water. Your green light isn't across the bay. Your green light is already within you. Every step you take every act of courage, every moment you choose growth instead of fear, it brightens. So this week, ask yourself, what's your green light? Send me a message, share with someone you trust or write it in your journal, not to chase it, but to remind yourself that you are already enough as you become who you are becoming. If you enjoyed this episode or found value in anything we discussed, please consider liking subscribing, leaving a comment, or sharing this episode with someone who might benefit from it. Lastly, keep striving to learn and grow and make it a priority to uplift both yourself and those around you. Until next time, keep believing in the light within.