Postscript
Though you have reached the end of this book, your journey is just beginning. Each challenge you will face is an opportunity to achieve unprecedented accomplishments. Don’t ever forget that. Keep growing from level to level and never stop striving for greatness.
Rabbi Shafier’s Shmuzes made a huge impact in my life. They guided me and helped me strive to reach higher. If you are looking to grow as a person, you will find them quite helpful. They can be downloaded for free at www.TheShmuz.com. (Ask someone to download them for you if you don’t use the Internet.) Start with some of my favorites: Shmuz 16: “Olam Habba: The Greatest Motivator,” Shmuz 24: “Understanding Life-Settings,” Shmuz 30: “Anger Management” (a great introduction to working on Middos in general), Shmuz 42: “Tricks of the Soton,” Shmuz 61: “Heroes,” Shmuz 73: “Self-Respect: The Basis of it All,” and Shmuz 80: “It’s Never Too Late.” Rabbi Shafier has Shmuzes on a wide range of topics, and his messages are enjoyable and easy to understand. Try them! They might change your life.
If you want to grow and reach greatness, you need to read the guidebook to life, Mesillas Yesharim. This mussar sefer teaches the proper path of growth so you can reach higher and higher. Even if you learned it in school, read it again and focus on the author’s words and message. (Try to focus on the Ramchal’s point, rather than on what others are doing wrong. Always ask yourself: What is the author trying to say? What is he trying to tell me? How can I use his message to become greater?) Get an English translation if you need one.
Also, Rabbi Avigdor Miller’s books are a must for people growing up today. Make sure to check out Rejoice O Youth!, Sing You Righteous, and Awake My Glory. From mussar to hashkafa to science, everything is in them. Read them! You won’t regret it.
We must always review the concepts we have worked on. If we stop reading and thinking about them, they will slip our attention and we will fall back a little. But if we review these ideas, we will keep our perspective and excitement to accomplish. And each time we read about these concepts again, we will gain further insight in them and feel them more than ever before.
We must take our “medication” against the Yetzer Hara every single day. We can’t let a day go by that we don’t strive for greatness. We should focus on the areas that need strengthening and review the material as many times as needed. We must always be working on one part of our battle plan, and we must review all the aspects of the plan every so often. This will condition us to be ready for all challenges.
To live with excitement and inspiration at all times, we must go beyond just reviewing the material. We must make excitement our way of life by celebrating our victories (see Chapter 25). Each time we’re thrilled about a triumph, our excitement to accomplish increases and this perspective becomes a part of us. If we keep up our excitement for accomplishment, we will win more easily and soar to great heights.
When I was fine-tuning this book, I went through it with a grammar checker. Every time the software noticed I had used the word “forever,” it flagged it as “a wild exaggeration” and asked whether I wanted to remove it. This made me smile because it’s no exaggeration — we really will rejoice with Hashem in the ultimate bliss forever! Amazing!
One last thing: Never forget that Hashem didn’t create you to be a nobody. He created you to become great for your benefit. Hashem just wants you to accomplish so that you will receive the ultimate pleasure in both worlds!
Hashem does not want you to sell yourself short. He doesn’t want you to miss out on your destiny. Overcome your challenges and become great! That’s the point of life.