Road to Success
Recently I wrote a post about Brass Media. If you haven’t gotten the chance to read that post or watch the video all the way through, please watch the video first (shown again below).
Motivation
Motivation is important. When you’re motivated, you are more likely to follow through and do what you’ve set out trying to accomplish. Finding motivation can prove to be an extremely difficult task for many, however, you know yourself best and more than anything, you should know what you want. Take some time to figure it out and eventually you will find something worth aiming for. Some people out there genuinely want to help others and try to motivate others as well (which is absolutely great). However, I also want to quickly say that there are also a bunch of fake baloneys out there as well. For example, there are those (certain make money online bloggers) that post screenshots or pictures of their big fat checks or their earnings (even videos) to “motivate” people (and this really isn’t a stab at anyone in general), I feel there are more productive ways of doing so by expressing your thoughts, sharing your ideas, and giving people your honest advice and opinion (yet allow them to draw their own conclusions). There are several other ways to achieve this too. In my opinion, those guys do it because it draws attention and drives traffic (duh?), and not because they necessarily want to motivate others or help them (although I do admit to some degree it can but some people have seen enough checks flying around to last a lifetime). If you need to see other people’s paycheck to get motivated, please spend time finding real motivation instead. That said, most of these guys claim they’re there to help, but really doesn’t offer anything different. I want to note there are a few exceptions to this and not every who post their earnings are complete douchebags.
I bring this up because I am frustrated at the fact these people say they’re there to help only to really try and benefit themselves (just business right?). If that’s the case, don’t claim you’re genuinely trying to help others (just tell it like it is; most people don’t care). Here is an example: a few people do this and post junk like $25 Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM) vouchers because they can make money off it through an affiliate offer while their readers can clearly benefit more from the $100+ YSM coupons (and they know it). For those unfamiliar with what Yahoo! Search Marketing is, it is a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising network equivalent to Google Adwords, in other words, online advertising. This is just an example and there are several others but you should be able to get the general idea. Sure some people may argue in their favor that these people should be compensated in some way since they’re “helping” by offering advice or info (and again, it’s just business), but a lot of these same people write crap and don’t really give any real insight. From a beginners standpoint, I can understand that everyone has to learn somewhere and it’s important to address this for everyone. But I can’t justify why so many people think some of the things written are suppose to be advance help when clearly they are not. There are better ways to go about making your earnings than to make a quick buck off your readers (especially if you’re pulling such BIG checks). I firmly believe in helping others for the sake of helping others and things will find it’s way back to bless you (and even if it doesn’t, who cares, the original intent is to help others).
Business Is Risky
Moving on. Success (in terms of wealth and finances) often (not always) lead people to starting their own business in some way, shape, or form. The first thing I really like about the above video was that Bryan took an extreme risk (something most people would not do), particularly in the situation he was in, having both parents unemployed and himself with no job. He chose to drop out of school completely and start the Brass Media business with practically nothing along with his parents who were apparently in a tight spot as well. This is a VERY risky move and the majority of people out there would have played it safe and gotten a job to cover for their expenses instead. In most cases for a situation like this, the parents would probably need to go back to work too. If I was in Bryan’s shoes, and if several of my personal entrepreneurial friends were also in his shoes, I firmly believe we would have taken the same route. However, most people wouldn’t have and I could not recommend people to do so either. Afterall, it is a big risk he was taking on, and there was no gaurantee of success (but there was hope).
Risk Is Only As Good As The Risk Taker
For most people, as much as I wish I can advise you to do the same thing, it really depends on who you are and what you can accomplish. The saying goes “the sky is the limit”. However for most people, the biggest roadblock stopping them from success is themselves. Not necessarily because they don’t want to succeed, but rather numerous factors that end up defining who they are, what they do, and ultimately what they accomplish comes into play. For most people, this means there is just too much uncertainty. For this very reason, most people probably wouldn’t have succeeded taking such a huge leap, therefore my advice is to take small steps to accomplish your goals. I know it’s contradicting and hypocritical as I wouldn’t have done the same thing but everyone is different. What is right for me may not be right for you. Ultimately do what you think is best for you.
One Step At A Time
Every journey begins with taking the first step and so does every accomplishment or success. The same concept applies to everything including business and money. If you truly want to succeed, have financial freedom, and become wealthy, you must take that first step. That said, this is much easier said than done for most people because sometimes it means changing their habits, what they do, how they live, and a whole genre of other things. Whatever the cause maybe, you must have the will power to do so. The simplest way this can be done is to start with small steps first and work your way up. Never leap into something you are not ready for thinking you can do it but at the same time, do not hesitant to take a chance (more on this below). Different people will give different advices but this is my take on it.
Random Example
Recently a friend of mine told me that she is failing school horribly but she must bring her grades up because if she doesn’t, her mom would kill her. This probably sounds familiar to a lot of people and maybe not so much for some. To me, as much as I would want to make my parents proud, I would not try to dig my own grave by attempting something I know for a fact I can not handle. If I did, I would bail the moment I knew it was too much to take (while you should try your best, there comes a time when you must learn to let go). There is a saying that some believe quitting is a sign of weakness, others say it just means you have the strength to let go. Knowing when to let go is part of the key to success. It goes back to the common saying ‘it is better to cut your losses’. Like gambling, you should know when to quit. Keep going at it and you’ll only dig yourself a deeper grave. Although she says her mom would kill her, I highly doubt its that dramatic in most cases and IF you really think hard about the worst case scenario for most things in life, they are almost never really that bad. In the end, you’ll look back and say to yourself, you worried for nothing.
Going back to my friend, another reason why her academic performance is below par is because she lives on her own without financial support from her parents, she doesn’t qualify for financial aid, probably doesn’t have the credit or a co-signer to pull student loans, and must work a full-time job to support herself. Barely making more than minimum wage and having to pay all her living expenses is putting a huge dent in any income she might have left after she pay all her bills. As a result, she can not really cut back on work, yet fear of failing her mom prevents her from taking a break from school or going down to part time. In my honest opinion, her mom probably wouldn’t want her to fail too (that would be worst and if she’d only listen, she’d take a break). That said, I also think that forcing herself to succeed thinking its the only option she has (when she is clearly closing her options) with only 2 weeks left to catch up under such tremendous pressure is stacking the odds against her. While some people can and will succeed in this scenario, the gamble in this case is too high of a risk. Many entrepreneurs and people in this world take risks, but they take “smart” risks, not random risks far out of their control.
Setting Goals
When I first started my entrepreneurial pursuit years ago, I always set goals I know I can accomplish (short term goals; small manageable ones) and goals I aim to accomplish in the long run (long term goals), and out-of-this world goals that I may or may not accomplish but have the faith that I should be able to make it happen (unrealistic goals). I wrote a little about my goal planning in a recent post called “Money on the Move” and in a previous post called “Importance of Goal Setting”. Always start with small goals you can see results in, fast. The reason is these small accomplishments can help boost your self-esteem AND reinforce the idea that you can achieve your goals. While it may seem futile, trust me when I say, the results (small successes) can actually help some people cope and further their success(es) down the road. It is also important to note that you should always set a deadline for all your goals.
Deadlines and Excuses
Without deadlines, people tend to be lazy and can find an enormous amount of reasons (excuses) to not follow through with their goals. Laziness is mankinds greatest disease (my personal quote). People will find all sorts of reasons not to do things and they will always think their reasons are valid, however, at the end of the day, whatever the reason is, point taken is you didn’t get it done. Customers who go shopping at their favorite store isn’t going to care why the store needs to close down for the day, week, month, or whatever. All they care about is shopping there and if the store can’t deliver, someone else will. Now let’s assume the store was closed down because they were burgularize and vandalized (burnt down) and really couldn’t open for business. While thats a legitimate reason (not all reasons are really this legitimate), in the end, that does NOT matter (it’ll be hard for some people to accept this argument). All that matters is they failed to deliver. In the case of pursuing your goals, its the same way. Often times people will blame not having enough time in the day, something else more important came up, they were sick with the ebola virus, etc… Doesn’t matter, there is a billion and one reasons you can come up with that will all seem legitimate for not getting anywhere with your goal(s) and not succeeding, but really there is only one reason why this is true. It all comes down to YOU. Action speaks louder than words. And there is ALWAYS time. If you think you don’t have time, learn time management.
It goes back to you are your own biggest obstacle (among all other obstacles). If a single mother of 5 kids can work 2 full-time jobs (making pennies on the dollar), go to school, and still take care, cook, and clean for her kids, you seriously have no good excuse in my opinion (stories like this are true and out there and there are plenty of them). Sure everyone comes from a different background and I am in no position to say I understand where you come from, but I can say if you want to make a difference, you got to step up and take that first step towards the right direction. Robert Frost said “Two roads diverge in the yellow woods… I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference”. You can make that difference. Or you can sit here all day reading what I, and many others, have to say, constantly do nothing other than just comtemplate it, and get nowhere fast.
Knowledge is the Greatest Power
In the Brass Media video above, Bryan talked about “devouring information” as in studying or absorbing information. My friend, Wes, who is also a mutual friend of Byran Sims of Brass Media since the days at Oregon State University, once said that “If you want to be wealthy, study wealth. If you want to be a better person, study personal development”. I follow the same concepts even long before these things are said, as far back as GI Joes (the cartoon) was on TV back in the 1980s. As each episoded ended, there was always a short clip of advice and the ending phase was always “and knowing is half the battle” (cartoons use to have more values back then but thats totally different subject). There couldn’t be a more true saying in this world. Knowledge truly is the greatest power. You want to succeed, you want to in a better place, you want to do whatever your heart desires, or whatever it is, you must start by learning. School doesn’t always teach you everything you need to know (although I firmly believe school is a strong building block that helps build a foundation for you; a starting point), and that you need to learn things on your own.
People have told me they don’t know what to do, they are not sure how to start, they have no idea about this and that. The truth is, people need to stop whining or make excuses, and start studying. If you want to know about wealth and/or personal development, read 40 books on wealth if you have to, and 40 more on personal development if need be, and you will start to formulate your own ideas (40 was just some random number I pulled out of my ass in case people are wondering why 40). No one can hand you the key to success, you must create it yourself. Don’t know what book to read, look up reviews online or just pick them up at your local library (browse). There are TONS of free resources, you just need to look. And because they are free, you can not argue you don’t have the money (it does not always take money to make money contrary to the myth; although in some cases it helps but you have to start somewhere).
Law of Association
Some people say that the definition of the law of association is you are the sum of your five closest friends or the five people you associate with most. In some ways I can agree with this and in some ways I can not. The point I am trying to make here is that some people constantly talk about “it’s who you know, not what you know”. Keep in mind knowledge is the greatest power there is (in my opinion) so it is about what you know. Sure knowing people in high places can sometimes get you places but not all successful people in the world were born with connections. They make connections happen. They find ways to meet these people but more importantly, most of them don’t rely on the saying “I must know someone in high places or else I won’t succeed”. Instead, they worry about achieving their own success without worrying about the success of others or how many friends they have in high places. Focus on your own life and everything else will surely follow. Same concept with operating a business. Take care of your customers and the money will take care of itself. Follow money and in most cases, you’re business is doomed to fail.
Act As If
Another friend of mine, Scott, reminded me of a famous quote from the movie Boiler Room. That is “act as if”. Act as if you you are the president of your own corporation. Act as if you are wealthy. Act as if you have it made. Whether or not you actually are, by reinforcing yourself and getting into the mentality that are you successful, you can be. I want to note that this doesn’t always apply but the concept is it’s all about your mentality. Believe in something, believe in yourself, and it has a much higher success rate than if you go into things half hearted. It is better to be passionate about your goals than to pursue something you’re not willing to try for in the first place, even if you do end up failing (more about failure later). Never let anything keep you down and never let anyone or anything tell you that you can not succeed. No matter who you are, where there is a will, there is a way (old saying I do believe in). Please note that this is meant to reinforce your mentality, not so you can brag, act arrogrant, or be a complete ass towards others. No one is better than anyone for we’re all different and we should learn to respect those differences. Even if you are in a better off position as someone else, know that you are a human being just like them and therefore you should never judge for ANY reason. While I can understand that very successful people have better things to do with there time than talk to a “nobody” they don’t know, it wouldn’t kill them to be nice and polite either. You’ll never know when someday, that nobody may end up a somebody.
Fake It Till You Make It
This leads us to the difference of “Act As If” versus “Fake It Till You Make It”. One is to help you build confidence in yourself (and not lie to others as if you are there) while the other is clearly lying to others to build your road to fame. While I believe this method can work, depending on the person (results will vary; much like with everything else in life and in this post), I do NOT recommend it. The repercussion or collateral damage that it can cause to your reputation is not worth the risk. Risk should be about evaluating the benefits versus the disbenefits, and you should always consider taking smart risks if any. Smart risks are ones where the benefits clearly outweights the disbenefits. In this case, obviously not worth it.
Time Is Everything
Time is the most precious thing in life because we all have a limit to how long we live (at least for now) so to make the best use of our time, it is better to use it towards enjoying life to it’s fullest (difficult to achieve). Often times there are roadblocks that prevent us from accomplishing this such as working a full-time job to support ourselves or our family. The reality however is, whatever situation you are in, you can always change (change yourself, change your situation, change anything). For those who are waiting for the perfect opportunity, I hate to break it to you, but there is almost no such thing as the perfect time (I say almost because they can be more rare than winning the lottery 1000 times over in your life so don’t depend on it). The perfect time is usually NOW. The more excuses you make, the longer you end up making yourself go nowhere. Some people are fine with that but for those who complain about not making it, you need a reality check. There really is almost no such thing as perfect timing. You can wait around all day, think all century, but nothing happens until you make it happen. Again, actions speaks louder than words, and this will always be true.
They say timing is everything but the truth of the matter is, timing most often relates to just making things happen. If you give up, the war is over. If you try, no matter how slim your chances are, at least you have a chance. Thomas edison tried over 2000 times to create the lightbulb. That is more times than most people are willing to try to do ANYTHING in life. If he had simply given up, there is a high chance we’d never have light today. Yet when asked, he merely said he did not fail over 2000 times, he just found over 2000 ways not to make a light bulb and 1 way to make it work. He also looked at it as if he took over 2000 STEPS to get to his goal. The truth is, you just got to try. Failure is part of success and anyone who gets angry over failing does not deserve to succeed. I have no problem openly admitting I’ve failed at several things in my life and there are things I wish I’ve done better but truth be told, if I have never failed, I would not have learned as much as I have; I love learning more than almost anything in my life. You simply have to accept that failure sometimes happen (a lot even) before you can truly succeed. Getting upset, worrying, or angry just simply wastes your energy. Rather, why not apply that energy towards something productive (yes, I know it’s easier said than done but that goes back to TRYING).
Lady Luck
Some people have all the luck in the world. They make it big, become the biggest billionaires you know. They are born into rich wealthy families already. They try something and it succeeds right away with no failure. Whatever the case maybe, you can never or rather, should never compare yourself to other people. It’s true that being competitive can be a good motivator but it is also true that this is one thing you need to be realistic about. If you start comparing (even on minor things), you will only end up disappointed. Success and luck go hand-in-hand, but luck is often created, not chance. I know that sounds weird but if you TRY, and you take ACTION, luck will find its way to you. Again, those who give up, already lost the war (no amount of luck will change this), but those who try, gives the OPPORTUNITY for luck to make its appearance. Whether you like to argue luck is chance or its created by people’s own will, theres no mistake, luck happens to those who do things more than those who do not. Like time, you can not wait around for luck to find you, you must make your own luck and ultimately make your own success.
The WILL Is Everything
I strongly believe in this. That your will is everything (as in will power). Sheer will power can take you places in life. This same quote was used in the movie Batman Begins which is an awesome movie (in my opinion). Whether you liked the movie or not, the saying does apply. Your will, your motivation, your ambition, your mentality, and your overall drive, is your greatest arsenal or weapon. Have a strong will that will not waiver in the face of failure and a heart that will not quiver in the eyes of doubters, and you may yet be surprised at what you can accomplish (corny but real). Another quote from this movie says “It’s not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you”. Jim Rohn, author of ‘The Art of Exceptional Living‘, also said “The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become”. So ultimately you must decide what kind of life you want and what type of person you want to become (please note who you are versus how people perceive you are two different things and should be kept as such).
The Reality We Call Life
The best quote I’ve heard that best describes what I want to say comes from none other than Rocky Balboa (yet another movie), a fictional character. No he isn’t a real person, no he isn’t some professional advisor, consultant, or anything, and he certainly isn’t some super historical figure like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That’s okay though because what he says is more true than most things I’ve heard in my life (and I think Rocky is awesome in his own way). The quote comes from him talking to his son:
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there perminently if you let it. You, me, or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know how much you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody; cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that.”
Truth is everyone can be better than that. And although Rocky wasn’t a real person, he genuinely was successful in what he wanted to accomplish in his life. You can argue all you want that movies are made up stories and things can turn out however the writer wants them to, but the same can be said about what you’d want to write about for the story of your life. And I don’t care what any study says, TV and Movies does have a lot to teach, given the person watching can perceive. There are millions of other quotes out there but you get the general idea.
Road to Building Wealth
Those who build their wealth or work towards “earning” their success often times have a higher chance of keeping it, managing it, and succeeding in life. Those who inherit their wealth, or receive it by pure luck (the chance type you all hope for), often don’t. Those who are are born and raise in wealthy families are lucky because this sometimes means they are exposed to higher education, get taught by those who build their own wealth, etc. Bill Gates for example may have made himself into a multi-billionaire and reign as the richest man on earth for well over a decade, however, Gates came from a wealthy family already. His family’s net worth was already in the millionaire status long before he started Microsoft and he attended some of the most prestigious private schools there was. He was lucky to have been raise in a wealthy family that knew how to teach him wealth and got further education along the way. However don’t let that fool you, Gates is brilliant all on his own and was capable of learning things outside the school system and simple put, think outside the box. While I don’t care much for IQ tests and don’t think they’re all that accurate, for those who care, his score was higher than that of Albert Einstein (or so I’ve read somewhere).
Regardless of this fact, the truth is, those who inherits their wealth or receive it by luck (such as winning the lottery) are often time horrible at managing it and in several cases, lose all of it (if they were not taught the value of success). Some even manage to go bankrupt. There was a long line of stories about several lottery winners who end up burning through all their money and now are either homeless or living in poverty (and I do mean several). While you might shrug this off as plain stupidity on their part, truth is, those who build their wealth KNOWS wealth and those who don’t, obviously don’t (with certain exceptions of course). Say what you will but you can not deny we are a nation of consumers (USA) comprised of people in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. The facts speaks for themselves. It’s not like some of these people don’t make a lot of money through their careers (such as doctors or lawyers; classic examples). You can’t deny that the CHANCES and PERCENTAGES of those who go on to succeed (if they work their way up) are indeed higher. That said, many people in this world (the vast majority) are less likely to inherit wealth or receive by chance. You’re better off making things happen in your life with your own two hands, will, determination, or whatever else you want to add, than to rely on other things or other people. Whether your goals in life are money/wealth related or not, this entire post pertains to it all (not just wealth and personal finances although it was more targeted at that). To achieve whatever it is you want, YOU must chase after your own dreams. Do not let things hold you back (especially fear, of failure, or of whatever), do not let yourself be down, and more important let others tell you that you are incapable of achieving success in whatever you are trying to do without giving yourself the chance to try. Embrace failures, learn to take chances while knowing when to cut your losses, give everything a try, and see where the JOURNEY takes you. Mostly have FAITH.
Final Thoughts
I do want to make a final note and state that business, entrepreneurship, etc… like most things in life, is not made for everyone. What is right for one person is not for another. That goes for everything else discussed. Decide what is right for you. As I’ve said, some people are happy working a normal career and that is fine. Without employees (the majority), many businesses would not be able to function. I respect that and I am thankful there are people of all levels out there. I would never want to say I am better than anyone just because I am wealthier, or whatever else it may be. Neither should you. We are all human. Most people will read this and still do nothing but for the select few, I truly hope you find your way to success.
Please bare in mind, I do not have a degree in either law or finance, I simple study them. Any and all advice I give are solely base on my experience and are of my own opinions, and you should formulate your own conclusion rather than take my words or anyone else’s word for it. I am in no way responsible for anything you choose to do as a result. Always use knowledge, advice, and whatever else you receive cautiously. Question everything and find out whats true and whats not for yourself. What works for one person may not for another (for various reasons). Do not just believe what people say, what the news say, or anything else without finding out for yourself. That said, everything written here is merely a basic guideline for you to consider, and is not meant to direct your lives. You should choose what is best for you. Take care.
