Tag: new beginning

Getting Started

“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.” – Ben Stein

It’s a lot easier said than done, but figuring out what path you want to head down is a crucial first step to reaching your final destination.

Planning and figuring out what to do with the rest of your life might seem too monumental of a task, but the trick is to do it one step at a time, one day at a time.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Sun Tsu

You need to realize that you are not signing a lifetime contract with anyone by simply choosing a specific goal for yourself. Worst case scenario is that you realize your current path is no longer in tact with your original plans and you’d have to change it. We’ve all taken detours before, and it shouldn’t be hard to get yourself back on a positive path. Pretty much, you just need to alleviate any unnecessary strain you imply onto yourself.

“Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.” Mary Schmich

Take a nice deep breath and think about what you love doing. Close your eyes and reminisce about your childhood and all the dreams you had in front of you. What were some of those dreams?

Also, think about things you love to do. What do you love to do so much, that you’d do it for free? Maybe you’re already doing something everyday but never realized its potential for becoming a career. Now the trick is to find a way to get paid for what you love to do.

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” -St. Francis of Assisi

I know what you’re thinking… and yes, there is a high demand in the prostitution field, and yes, the pay is really good. But trust me, I tried it before and it was a tough gig… the hours were late, no healthcare, no dental, rude customers, weird customers and of course, not a good retirement package…. (just kidding)

Still having problems figuring out what’s for you? Try talking with family and friends. Maybe they can see the greatness and potential in you that you can’t see yourself.

Pick up the book called “Grindhopping” by Laura Vanderkam http://www.grindhopping.com. It talks about finding your own passions in life and turning it into an entrepreneurial venture. The term Grindhopping comes from the mundane lifestyles that most adults fall into, where we go to college, show up, become an average student and then eventually go out into the world as a corporate slave in the corporate grind. So Grindhopping is thus, finding your own path and becoming your own boss, hence skipping, or hopping, the daily corporate grind that drives so many of us into becoming mediocre working adults.

Grindhopping (verb) – Achieving accelerated career success, without paying your dues.

“Grindhoppers who hit the jackpot from the start have not just talent, but affection for their work. They do not believe that they should be anything but blissfully happy with their jobs.” – Lauren Vanderkam

Excepts from the book:

Guideline #1: Always Be Your Own Boss

No compromises, no excuses

Guideline #2: Know Where You’re Going

It’s the only way to drive on unmarked roads

Guideline #3: Recalculate Risk

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Guideline #4: Think Projects, Not Jobs

Welcome to the Craig’s List Economy

Guideline #5: Seek to Be Judged on Results (and Deliver Them)

Be better, and you’ve got it made

Guideline #6: Everything is Negotiable

From money to work-life balance, don’t believe “that’s just the way it is”

Guideline #7: Cultivate a Network and a Nimble Mind

Learn how to learn on the job

I asked Lauren, “What is one thing all the Grindhoppers you met have in common?”

Her response was that all of them had a strong sense of self-discipline. After all, these people aren’t working for anyone else other than themselves. So it’s their own internal fire and personal drive that will allow them to succeed or fail.

So now the question is, do you have that same motivation within you?

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney


Why 99% of New Year Resolutions Never Work!

new years resolution apple january 1 new life

Another year has come and gone. Once again, we look back at a year of triumphs and trials. We contemplate on what could have been, and what might have become. With the New Year fast approaching, we now turn our sights forward into a new 365 days of possibilities.

With that, the  first thing most of us do is set forth a new regiment for ourselves. We set our “New Year’s Resolution!” Nothing wrong with that, right…? WRONG! Let me tell you that time and again, I have seen friends, family and strangers set forth new year resolutions only to abandon them at the first glimpse of Avocado Cakes or Chocolate Covered Bacon, instant diet breakers!

Why do 99% of New Year Resolutions not work? Well, pretty simple, because it’s a promise with a future decree.

New Year Resolution get fit lose weight loose flab get abs get in shape top resolution

It’s always easy to say “tomorrow I will…” Tomorrow this, or tomorrow that. It’s the procrastinators’ cry. What happens when tomorrow actually comes? Well, these non-committed fiends simply push it off to another tomorrow. Sometimes, after realizing the immediacy of tomorrow, they then give themselves more time and say “next week.”

Tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. It will never work. If you want something changed, you have to change NOW. Not after some ill-conceived non-tangible date that just sounds nice like January 1.

There was a two-part study done where the participants had to come in and answer some questions, not knowing what the study was actually about. After day one of questions, the participants were asked what type of snack they wanted when they came back  for part two of the study. Their choices were Chocolate or Bananas. Not surprisingly, over 80% of the participants opted for the healthier option, the banana, and went on their merry way.

New Year's Resolutions top 10 Quit Smoking Cigarettes for next year

Come day two of the study, these same participants would be asked again if they still wanted the banana they originally asked for or if they wanted to change it to chocolates, and the results… a surprising 70% of the people that said they wanted Bananas changed their snack to chocolates!

What does this tell us? Well, that it’s always easy to look forward to a future date and think the best for ourselves. These participants, like us, look forward and say that we will quit smoking or start eating healthier or be nicer. Though in reality, once we’re faced with the imminent choice to smoke or not to smoke, right now, we often fall prey to our own lack of self-discipline.

So if you want something changed, don’t expect a New Year’s Resolution to be the resolve you were hoping for. A fancy kiss at the strike of the clock is probably all that the new year can really bring. Other than that, the change in you should start NOW.

As for me, what’s my non-new-year-but-do-it-now-resolution? Well, to write more… but I’ll start that tomorrow…