Caught up in Obama-mania, SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt tackles the concept of ‘change’.

American new wave band Oingo Boingo were right when, in their song Change on the 1993 album Boingo, they alluded to most humans being creatures of habit.

“Don’t you ever wonder why, nothing ever seems to change. If it does it’s for the worse, seems it’s just a modern curse. Sometimes when I take a peek outside of my little cage, everyone looks so asleep, will they die before they wake?”

We find things to do and get comfortable. Slowly over time our brains hard wire themselves and release chemicals to crave and repeat certain behaviour.

However, our brains have amazing plasticity, meaning that by focusing and working hard we can continue learning complex new things throughout our lives. But we must stay deliberate, active and engaged to make change happen and stick for the long term.

We consciously accept our lives as they are and often wonder, ‘who am I?’, ‘where am I?’, and ‘how did things turn out this way?’

We have become less and less prone to taking risk as we enjoy more and more the comforts of modern life.

Let’s not forget, we are evolved to walk long distances each day, run from or fight predators, work hard to find shelter and sleep in short intervals.

At the beginning of this year I asked myself what it was that I wanted to do but was afraid to try?

Just about everyone I know is in a state of panic and is questioning the future. Very few people are making big plans and implementing ideas to make their lifelong dreams reality.

Could this be due to fear of failure or a desire to latch on to the comfort and security we have?

So, how do we take the leap and change things? Spontaneity should not be frowned upon – make a plan, analyse the various outcomes and move.

One of the biggest problems facing the world is a lack of decision making, so many of us are in a ‘wait and see’ mode. Find your passion and desire and move towards a goal.

These are some valuable things I have found along my journey that have helped me stay positive and continue to grow, evolve and succeed in spite of almost any situation:

First I put it all in perspective. If I take on a new challenge to change I ask myself about the worst thing that could happen. I weigh the consequences, then decide to do or not do.

Every day I think about the roughly three billion people around the world living on less than two dollars a day, and I realise I am fortunate enough not to be one of them.

If living on two dollars a day is the worst thing that can happen, then let’s take the risk. All we really need is food and shelter.

I have failed more times than I can count, but I would rather take the risk and fail than stand idle and wait for a sure thing every time.

Successful people make a habit out of doing things that others feel uncomfortable attempting.

We are people with ambition, willing to change to meet the challenges we both set and face. Through hard work, education and dedication we can change almost any circumstance.

I was taught that every person who can work, should work, stay engaged, and take care of their body and mind.

We are challenged daily to not only get out of bed and go to work, but to make our dreams reality.

Most of us are led by our own accord; we decide who we want to be every day we get out of bed. We decide whether to change to a new business venture, be physically fit, quit a bad habit or start a good one.

I challenge each of us to change for the better daily. There isn’t a guide book to make your dreams reality, but your head and heart are all it takes to start making dreams come true.

I wish you all the best on your journey. Now, start doing!