3 things to keep you from a life of failure
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Growing up I was entrenched in the world of self help from the age of 13 or so and would read all kinds of books about being a better person.
Whatever that’s supposed to mean.
I soon found out as I began to get older and make decisions that were sometimes in direct contradiction to things I read that reading and applying what you read are two marvelously different things.
I knew the “right” thing to do yet I could not apply it for some reason.
Enter 21: I stand now at 21 and wish I could go back and fix the idiotic mistakes I made as a teen and set my life on the perfect course for success.
But I also know that there really isn’t a cut and dry definition of success, so I need to first define that for myself.
My goals currently are: make 3000 dollars a month in income through writing. And then to make another 3000 a month from a relatively passive income source (property management). And also being able to provide food and water from the land I live on.
With these I would be able to cover my expenses and pay off my debts and donate generously to the ministry I follow.
Right now I am doing all of this on top of a day job and sometimes it feels overwhelming other times it feels peaceful.
And to tell the truth, I know it could be a lot worse.
With all of that said from the mistakes and things I have screwed up I want to highlight the 3 things I would say are most important to me moving forward.
1. Don’t let your past define you
2. Work with what you have and start small
3. Recognize small wins
1.
I have a bad habit of sulking in self pity over my past mistakes and letting them define who I am and always thinking about what I did wrong.
This kind of thinking is not bad when used to figure out the problem and find a solution but when all I do is dwell on the negative I get overwhelmed and discouraged.
Finding the balance of identifying issues and then coming up with implementable solutions is the key when focusing on negative behaviors.
2.
Another common element of failure is the belief that if I only had x I would be successful and in reality there may be a few situations where this is true but at the same time we have to be aware of how we can use what we already have.
For example, I used to have an old Hyundai and it drove well enough to justify keeping it but I decided to get another car that was slightly bigger because me and my dog needed something bigger. Or so I thought.
I could have very well kept my older car and been fine but I had an itch in my pants about getting a car because I wanted to be able to make more money with it doing Uber. At least that’s how I tried to justify it.
When you want to try something new, do everything you can to exhaust the resources you currently have as a sort of proof of concept before you start buying stuff to fund your new venture.
3.
When you start using the things you have and you are making progress it feels great. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel and know theres a way out.
This motivates you to keep grinding and doing everything you can to further your business or whatever endeavor you may be pursuing.
This is when you should debate investing more in your business or endeavor, when the growth is starting to outgrow your current capacity. Which should be on a small scale.
Doing stuff on a small scale allows for you to test the waters and get a taste of the thing you are debating putting a lot of resources into.
Without the ability to test things in a manner that does not derail your entire resource collective, then every time you want to try something new there will end up being a long recovery period and you will feel discouraged constantly.
Learning how to build proposals and plans of action that detail your tests and plans for scaling if growth is proven. Will catapult you into major success.
It requires patience, wisdom, humility and discretionary ultra transparency.
Stay strong fellows, the end is not yet.
