Owning the Power to Control My Destiny

By Linda Walker

I have great respect and adoration for financial guru, Suze Orman. She is an intelligent, financially brilliant and witty lady (If she's anti gun, please don't tell me!) Recently I watched The Suze Orman show on the local PBS channel. The show was entitled "Women & Money". Now you ask, what does that have to do with gun rights? Certainly Buckeye Firearms Association hasn't gone into the financial planning business now, have they? Of course not! But please bear with me in my ramblings.

Ms. Orman proceeds through out the show to explain the "eight qualities of the wealthy woman". Number three is "courage"! Suze explains "courage is the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action." Wait a minute! In my pro gun mind, Suze can't be talking about financial stuff! She must be confused and instead is talking about self defense! These are the type of words I would say to my students as I instruct them in my concealed carry classes.

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Yet the most profound words were to come to the audience full of women when Suze stated you must "own the power to control your own destiny"! That statement hit me like a Mack Truck. Own the power to control your own destiny!!! For me, those words were so profound. April 8, 2004 Ohio's General Assembly granted me the "power to control my own destiny". That is the day that concealed carry became law in Ohio.

Often times, a person will ask me why I would want to carry a gun. In my pro-gun, pro-CCW mind, this thought process baffles me. Why do they ask? What I think is so obvious, is not to them? Is not my life worth defending? Is the bad guy more important than me in their minds? Is it not my job as a parent to protect my children? Would they rather that I was raped than to defend my life? Would they hate me if I had to defend my life from the evil doer? Do they understand my husband cannot be with me at all times to defend my honor? Do they understand that the police will not be there to protect me, but will certainly be there after the fact to make the reports? Is it not so obvious why I carry a gun?

For the past three years I have had the power to control my destiny. I walk out the door every day knowing that should someone have evil intentions towards me, I have two choices. I can choose to defend myself or I can become a victim. The latter certainly is not in the playbook for me. I will fight! I will not stop fighting until the fight is over. I will not be a willing victim, and I will not be moved to a secondary location. Statistics show the odds are against me surviving if moved to another location. I will not kneel down only to be shot execution style for following his demands. And I will not allow myself to be restrained. I will create my own destiny right then and there.

You have the power to control your own destiny by taking the necessary steps to protect yourself-legally! The person who knows that their life is more important than the thug who wants to cause bodily harm, is the person who will defend themselves. This person writes their own destiny.

So I have come full circle as to why watching a Suze Orman show has left an impact on me. While she talks about financial protection, I see that there is little difference when I speak of self protection. Instead of talking about finances, Suze could have just as easily been speaking of the importance of self defense. But it comes down to this - are you ready to own the power to control your destiny? It was a very easy answer for me to make for myself!

Linda Walker is a leader with Buckeye Firearms Association, a licensed real estate agent in the State of Ohio, and a certified NRA Pistol Instructor teaching concealed carry classes in central Ohio.