Meet Kelly DIFFIE

We were lucky to catch up with Kelly DIFFIE recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelly, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

My confidence and self-esteem stem from a lot of struggles over the years. With each new struggle I have encountered, I have learned new ways to overcome them. I am not a motivated individual. I am a DISCIPLINED individual. Motivation waxes and wanes, some days a person can feel extremely motivated, on other days they can feel not so motivated and that can all be influenced by external factors. Discipline is ever present. It does not come and go, it is something that is just there. Everyday I make art, I learn something new, I overcome struggles and barriers that I encounter, not because I feel like it or because someone or something influences me, inspires me or motivates me, but because it is interwoven into the fabric of my very being. It is something I know must be done. Failure is not an option, being successful is not optional. Reaching my goals and becoming the best artist, the best teacher and the best person I can possibly be is automatic. It is imperitive, and no matter how I feel or what someone else thinks, I have been designed to achieve greatness and I have programmed myself to move forward no matter what obstacles I am presented with.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a force of nature. I strive to shape the world around me. People like to say “go with the flow.” Instead I prefer to alter the stream, the river, the lake, the ocean and make it take me where I choose to go, altering the environment and the world in a positive way that produces the results I want to see. I create pathways where there were none before and tread in uncharted territory. Life is about boldly going where none other has gone before. Exploring the unknown. Learning something new everyday. I do not want to follow in the footsteps of others, but rather leave a set of footprints for others to follow. I am not satisfied with simply standing upon the shoulders of giants, I want to become a giant, a legend and a beacon to others.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Drive, determination and an uncompromising will to succeed.
We all face challenges, some harder than others. Daunting challenges which will stop people in their tracks if they do not push forward. If you cannot go over them, then you must try to go under them and if you cannot go under them, then you must try to go around them and if that does not work, then you must go through them. Find a way and if you cannot, then make a way. Continue to make progress no matter what it takes. When you crest a mountain only to find there is another mountain, then buckle down and climb the next one and keep climbing each one you encounter. This is the only way. Be strong, be bold, endure because if you do not, you cannot progress and you will never reach your destination. Set a goal, achieve it and then set another. Onward and upward, through the rain and the pain and overcome any challenge you face. When you hear a no, ask again. When a door closes, open it, it is a door, this is how they work. At the risk of sounding cliché, you must get up, you must carry on and you must win. You cannot rely on others to take you where you want to go, because everyone is on their own journey and the only way to get to the end is to “just do it.”

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I have been my own best friend, seeking inspiration from myself, dedicating myself to myself. My desire is to become the best me I can make myself. No one can change you, only you can change yourself. You must want to change, want to win, want to succeed. Be the change in the world you want to see. Be the champion you were born to be.

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