1. "Never fight the system. Give the system no choice."

This is a thought that came into my mind at 3 am; the peak hour of my imagination. When I was asked the question, "Do you think anything is out of your reach because you're a girl?" There was no stopping the words from flashing in my head. We exist in a society where our positions are predetermined way before we've had the chance to assess our abilities. Society is only one of these many "systems"; systems being obstacles that are represented in many forms. Give them no choice.

A vision to see obstacles as opportunities will be your breakthrough. Don't fight them off. Don't waste the time and energy you should be using for training trying to fight any unfortunate circumstances. The reality is, they never go away. You just grow tall enough to walk over them when you become the best version of yourself. At this height, "they" have no choice. How can anyone look down on you when they are what's under you? The systems may have our positions predetermined but that only happens at the beginning. The future is ours to create. Don't let your success be a possibility; make it a certainty. Saying that anything is out of your reach is just an excuse.

2. "Don't just settle. βελτιώ!"

(pronounced veltió- means improve in Greek)

This is how you live to make a difference. The ability to see that all things can be even greater than they currently are. Imagine if the iPhone didn't have regular updates. In fact, think about how tremendous it is because of the updates.

Think about how dipping an ordinary cup into molten gold turns it into a trophy.

I go to one of the best schools in Zimbabwe. One with state of the art facilities and one that offers a wide variety of subjects and activities. I refused to accept the fact that Hellenic didn't have a debate club and so with the school's support, I started one. Now, it is one of the best schools in Zimbabwe, with state of the art facilities, it offers a wide variety of subjects and activities and it has a debate club!

3. "Be inspired by your own story."

Never sit around waiting for inspiration. Seek it by being willing to learn. Change your mindset. Instead of waiting to be inspired, (for the sake of flow I'll call that person the inspiree) strive to be the person that inspires other people, the inspirer.

The inspiree as I've repeatedly said waits around. They experience the few seconds of magic when they read that amazing quote. Whereas, the inspirer is doing something and the lessons she learns are the quotes the inspiree is reading! (Ok, back to proper English!)

"What keeps you motivated?"

Motivate yourself! No-one truly knows what you want or need to hear to get you going. Occasionally detach yourself from your journey of self-excellence and reflect on the unbelievable things that you would've done.

Now repeat after me!

Never fight the system, give the system no choice. Don't just settle. Be inspired by your own story.

You're fearfully and wonderfully made. You're stronger than you know and I can't wait to see the person you become in the future.

Love from Phyllis.