Everybody plays a part in your life and it is up to you to identify their roles. Some play major roles and always sustain a lead. Others play a reoccurring part. They come and they go, making some cameo appearances in particular scenes. Then during a certain point in your life you’ll realize that some people are just extras. Your overall production will reveal to you who’s there for the distance and the revelation might be a great shock to you. Sometimes your extras develop into major roles and those once major characters are now absent from your present and your future. Know all of your supporting cast and take a look at the big picture. At the end of the day the decisions that you make are the ones that you have to live with. Your body of work has your signature on it with or without a supporting cast. You can’t just live you have to be conscience in your living and be mindful of all the moving parts. You are cheating yourself if you allow others to narrow your path to success. Being conscious is the power but it only holds strength for yourself if you choose to grow from it. Step up for your wrongs and keep taking more steps up with your rights. Take pride in the good that you do, and never be too proud to admit when you’re wrong. Recognize the people in your circle that want you to be great, and the ones that want you to break. Accountability is the big picture in life, without it, you’re just stuck.

Excerpt from upcoming book, Accountable, by Arra F. Gilliam