Is financial independence even possible for me

Is financial independence even possible for meIs financial independence even possible for meOn ur tour through Michigan, my wife and I had the honor of crashing a ChooseFI meetup organized by Amy ofLife Zemplified. About 20 minutes in, a single guy walked in, introduced himself, and we started talking about money.Because thats whatmoney bloggersdo.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBut, this guy welchesnt a money blogger. He was an immigrant who was adopted by an American family in Michigan years ago and, now in his mid to late 20s, is on the path to financial independence. It was an awesome story.He told us that once he understood what is possible, his mind was able to accept thatfinancial independence is within his graspeven though he might not look or act like the rest of us.Though I always try to focus on whats possible, this encounter has further convinced me that we do the pe rsonal finance community (outside of the blogosphere) a disserve when we focus on those things that we cant control rather than the things that we can. Negativity rarely helps anybody.Focus on whats possibleThis guy could have easily told himself that he wasnt one of the privileged. He wasnt born into a white picket fence neighborhood. In fact, he wasnt even born in this country.There are a ton of reasons to give up, but he didnt. And, Im finding that his story is one of the many from around the country people who refuse to accept the things that they cannot control and instead hone in on the things that they can.For example, we cannot controlwhere we were bornthe family that we were born inour upbringing and childhoodwhat we are taught and things we seeWe cannot control every facet of our lives. But, the large majority of us can control how we react to situations. Our attitude toward life and whether we choose to accept the shackles of constraint or the freedom of choice is ours t o make.Im as Pro-Choice as they come.And the more we use our very natural freedom to choose, the more control we have over our lives and our reaction to those things that happen to us.We have a few decisions to makeWe canchooseto assume that since we dont look or act like everybody else, that we are somehow different and less worthy than everybody else.We canchooseto lament our upbringing or culture and give up.We canchooseto always focus on the negatives, and when they dont exist,proceed to create themin an attempt to make life easier by rationalizing our inability to get ahead and succeed in life.OrWe canchoosetosearch for whats possibleand accept the fact that while it may not always be easy, few things in life that are worth doing are easy.We canchooseto focus on how we react to the world rather than letting the world get us down (a complacent society is what the world wants).We canchooseto refuse. Refuse to accept that we werent born into the right family, or didnt have a perfe ct upbringing, or didnt get that college scholarship.But Steve, thats easy for you to sayYoure right, it is.I had a very positive and uplifting childhood. I didnt struggle all that much. I was never thebrightest bulb on the tree, but I also wasnt the dimmest.But, heres the thing This isnt about me. My upbringing has nothing to do with yours, and it also doesnt negate the fact that when we focus our minds on positive pursuits, rather than the much-more-easy assumption that we just arent the chosen ones, amazing things happen.That guy at the ChooseFI meetup is a perfect example of what can happen when we accept that while things arent perfect, theres still a LOT out there thats available to us. More than a lot of us care to accept.Ive said this before and Ill say it againFinancial Independence (and Early Retirement) is available to way more people than we realize.I stand behind those words.That doesnt mean itll always be easy. It also doesnt mean the world is fair or that everyone wil l get an equal part in this journey. But if you live in the first world like the United States, Canada and most of Europe, our acceptance of reality has a profound impact on our ability to get ahead.And, to achieve some pretty damn amazing goals.What path will you choose?In life, we have a very simple choice to make that will have a profound effect on our lives every single dayAssume that you might as well not even try to achieve financial independence or early retirement unless youre a white male, orRefuse to wear those shackles of restraint and instead focus on whats possible and the things that youcando to improve your life.Path 1 or 2. Its your choice. Make your pick.And, Id like to thank the ChooseFI community for the positive impact they directly have in our society. Its more clear than ever that bringing the concept of financial independence into mainstream society, and offering it up as something thats possible, is making a positive difference.People are beginning to realize that achieving big money goals is within the grasp of so many of us, and putting our minds to somethingpositiveand refusing to believe that we werent born a certain way is life-changing.We do everyone a service by focusing on whats possible.This article first appeared on Thinksaveretire.com.