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. I'm really glad you're here today, truly, because what we're talking about is one of those topics that can shift the way you see your entire life. Today, we're exploring self-empowerment, inner strength, and authenticity through the lens of the book, It Was You All Along by Russ. And whether you've read the book or not, these ideas, they're for anyone who's ever wondered, am I getting in my own way? Am I holding myself back? Is there more to me than I'm allowing myself to express?

yes, there is, and it's been inside of you the whole time. The moment you realize it's you. You ever have a moment where you look around your life and you suddenly realize that no one is coming to save you. Not in a hopeless way, but in a powerful way. A way that says, I've been waiting for permission that I never needed. That's the heart of It Was You All Along. It's the reminder that the life you want isn't waiting on other people to validate you, approve you, or open some magical door. It's waiting on you. Your courage, your voice, your honesty, your willingness to take responsibility for your own path. You're not powerless. You're not small, you're not stuck. You are powerful, but maybe you haven't been plugged into that power. Not yet. The stories we tell ourselves. Let's talk about the stories. The ones in our heads that we don't even question because they feel so real. I'm not good enough. I'm behind. I'm too late. No one will care. I'm not ready. What if I fail? What if I look stupid? We say these things to ourselves like they're facts carved in stone, but they're not facts. They're scripts. Scripts that were handed to us by fear, by comparison, by old experience, by people whose voices we internalized. And one of the biggest messages in Russ's work is this. You can rewrite the script, you can change the story. You can choose thoughts that carry you forward, not ones that bury you. Because mindset is not just thinking positive, it's choosing thoughts that empower the version of you you're trying to become. That's self-empowerment. Not hype. Not affirmations taped to your bathroom mirror, though those can help. It's the choice to say, I am the narrator. I am the author. This is my story, and I decide how it's told. The myth of someday. You know what the enemy of authenticity is? What gets in the way of inner strength more than anything? Someday. Someday, I'll go for it. Someday, I'll express myself. Someday, I'll take the risk. Someday, I'll stop caring what people think. Someday, I'll live my truth. The problem with someday is it's always later. It's always tomorrow. It's always out there somewhere floating in a fog of good intentions, but It Was You All Along, invites you to collapse the timeline. If it's your life and your dream and your vision, why not now? Why not let yourself be who you are today? Why not give yourself permission today? Why not step into your identity today? You don't need to wait for confidence to magically strike. Confidence is the byproduct of action. It shows up after you start, not before. Internal validation versus external approval. Here's a big one. For so long, many of us give our power away without even realizing it. We hand it to people who don't understand our dreams. We hand it to strangers on the internet. We hand it to those who never had to walk our path, but somehow get a say in how we walk it. But the true empowerment comes from shifting validation inward. Not in a rebellious, I don't care about any one way, but in a grounded, my truth matters more than their opinions way. You don't need the world to approve the path that was designed for you. You don't need applause to begin. You don't need agreement to be authentic. You only need alignment and alignment is an inside job. So, let me ask you, where have you been underestimating yourself? Where have you been shrinking? Where have you been saying not yet. When you really mean I'm scared. And more importantly, where have you been handing your power away? Take a breath. No judgment. Just awareness. Awareness is the first step toward empowerment. Awareness is how we find ourselves again, because the moment you notice the pattern, you can change it. Radical responsibility. One thing Russ emphasizes is responsibility, not in the guilt sense, but in the ownership sense. Radical responsibility is saying, if I created the pattern, I can uncreate it. If I built the cage, I can unlock it. If I let fear run the show, I can take the mic back. That's empowering, that's liberating. It means there's always a way forward. There's always something you can do. You're never as stuck as you think you are. And when you take responsibility for your own growth, your own voice, your own path, you become unstoppable because you stop waiting for people to choose you. You choose yourself. Authenticity is power. Let's talk about authenticity, not the curated aesthetic version, not the trendy version, not the show your vulnerability online for likes version. I'm talking about the kind of authenticity that's quiet, steady, powerful, and deeply honest. The kind that says. This is who I am, not who I was told to be, not who I pretend to be, and not who people expect me to be. When you're authentic, you're unshakeable because you're no longer performing. You're no longer hiding. You're no longer negotiating your truth. Authenticity is about being loud. It's about being real. That's where inner strength is born, not from perfection, but from alignment. Not from applause, but from truth. Who you are is enough to begin, so here's something to sit with today. You don't need to be more to start. You don't need to be fixed. You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to have it all figured out. It was you all along the ability, the courage, the intuition, the fire, the potential, the heart, the resilience. It's always been there, maybe buried, maybe quiet, maybe waiting, but it's yours, and you can access it anytime you choose to stop doubting yourself. Before we wrap up today, I want you to imagine the version of you who is fully empowered, the you who trusts your own voice, the you who acts on your ideas, the you who walks in authenticity, the you who doesn't apologize for existing, the you who doesn't shrink to make others comfortable. The you who believes truly that you are capable, worthy, and ready. Picture that version of you. See them clearly. Now, realize that's not a future version of you. That's you without fear, that's you without apology. That's you without the old stories. That's you without the weight you were never meant to carry. That's who you really are, and you can step into that version of yourself today because it was you all along. Thank you for listening. For showing up, for doing the inner work. You're stronger than you think, more capable than you believe, and more powerful than you've ever allowed yourself to realize. In closing, if you have not done so already, please remember to subscribe, like the video, turn on the bell for notifications, share this episode with someone who might benefit from it, and leave a comment down below. If there is a book that resonates with you and you would like to see it in a future episode, share with me because I would love to hear from you. Until next time, keep striving to learn and grow and make it a priority to uplift both yourself and those around you.