Their father was a criminal.
He was addicted to drugs, he was a thief, and was abusive to his wife and twin boys.
At a young age, the two brothers witnessed their father do terrible things.
The father was arrested, and many years later, a reporter became interested in learning about what happened to these boys.
The first of the twins the reporter found was also in jail.
He too was addicted to drugs and in prison for stealing.
The reporter asked…
“Why did you turn out like this?”
He replied…
“With a father like mine, what would you expect?”
The reporter tracked down the second brother.
To the reporter’s surprise, the brother was happily married, had a family of his own, a large house, and was very successful.
The reporter asked…
“Why did you turn out like this?”
He replied…
“With a father like mine, what would you expect?”
Both brothers were exposed to the same abuse from their father.
Why did they end up living such different lives?
The first brother played the role of victim, blaming his father for how his life turned out. He claimed that it was because of his father that he too was in prison.
The second brother made a decision at an early age to never be like his father. He never touched drugs and decided to create a better life for himself.
The point?
You aren’t the victim of circumstance.
Whatever happened in your past does not dictate your future.
You can decide, right now, to create a better life for yourself and your loved ones.
It all depends on how you respond to your circumstances and the choices you make about who you want to be.
So the question is…
Who do you want to be?
Rooting for you,
Jay (encouraging you to be like the second brother)