In real life, I’m actually a fairly humble guy on pretty much everything. In fact, an outside observer would, probably accurately, say I even have low self-esteem issues. So it should be understood that this post isn’t bragging. I usually don’t brag because if I did something worth bragging about it’s probably something I should have done years sooner or with better results than I actually achieved. Anyway….
I was rolling through some old posts and noticed that several posts where I described changes in my life or courses of action I was taking have realized their potential. I thought it would be interesting to point them out.
After having limited employment opportunities, I decided that rather than agitate that minimum wage needed to be raised to $15, I needed to become the kind of person who was worth more. So..I went back to school. While in school I needed to actually get some direction and stop wandering aimlessly. I needed to develop a principle to use as a yardstick for my activities. And I needed to set some actual, defined, quantifiable goals. I also moved the direction of my efforts slightly from heavy-on-the-materiel to heavy-on-the-financial. And…it largely paid off. I hit virtually every goal I set, once I actually had a goal. The life I have now is far from perfect, but it is leaps and bounds more resilient than it used to be, and more importantly, there is substantial groundwork laid for the future.
It’s all stuff I should have done years ago, yep. But…maybe better late than never
What made the difference? (Other than having no real other options, I mean.) Figuring out goals and setting them. And then sticking to working towards them. Consistently. Short terms goals were easy. Any idiot can stay on a diet, exercise plan, steps-a-day, or other goal for two weeks. Thats easy. Two months? Harder, but within most of us. But…years? Thats a challenge. But…it can be done. I’m the least disciplined person you’ll ever meet. I always look for the easy way out. But if I could get my act together enough to hit some of these important goals (pay off house, get out of debt, finish college, bang Jennifer Law…wait, still working on that last one) then I can pretty much guarantee any person can. Heck, probably be easier for them than for me.
I’m not going to say I did it all on my own. Or that I’m some sort of self-made-man. Nope. I had help. People stepped in and stepped up here and there. Sometimes it was with a check, sometimes it was with an ‘attaboy’, but it was never all just me. And I’m fine with that. The people who helped me were the people I wanted in my life and they added to it as I added to theirs…and they proved that they were worth having in my life.
In my opinion, my life still isn’t anything to jump up and down about. There are still smoldering hot spots that could flare up anytime and start the blaze again, but things are far better than they used to be.
I’m telling ya man….find goals, set them, and then go after them ruthlessly. Worked (up to this point) for me.
1) Perform a complete SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.
2) Prioritize the result.
3) Initiate Task 1, complete Task 1, initiate Task 2, complete Task 2, lather, rinse, repeat.
Used to be a social worker, worked with folks whose kids were in foster care and the youth who were growing up in the system. Sadly watched a lot of unrealized potential float away. If you truly believe in yourself and believe your efforts will benefit you, you can do a lot. A lot of my clients were minority folks who had bought the bull that “the man will keep you down” Not necessarily talking about lazy folks looking for an excuse, but good folks who defeated themselves.
Its a lot easier to claim that youre a victim of something than it is to take responsibility for your (in)actions. We’ve made it to acceptable and to forgiving for people to cast themselves as victims.
Spot on!
Good for you, the first step was in the KNOWING that SOMETHING had to change, and you pivoted away from what wasn’t working to a new direction, and succeeded..
For years the wife and I have a ritual performed on New Years Eve, (mind out of gutter please 🙂
We would go out to a simple, nice restaurant for dinner, with notepads in hand, and write out the needs/wants/goals/etc for the new year, nothing was off the table, work, life, love, money, items, etc.
We do not tell each other our lists.
Then we would fold it, put into wooden box, which would remain closed until time to open, and take out the previous years list and discuss our results, which we are running over 70% complete.
Now, we could amend the new list with items from old list if need be.
The mind will subconsciously work towards the goals, with a little help of oneself and action steps of course.
As a small business owner, i have daily/weekly/monthly/yearly tasks and goals as well, and do a pretty good job of hitting my target, because I HAVE a target to aim for….
Your mileage may vary, but it is always good to reflect upon the past, to plot out the future.
Congratulations. Hard work pays off and when your the one putting in the effort you should feel proud.
Congrats again.
Good job bro!
Going back to school is hard. It gets harder as one gets older. You did it! I hope you reap many great rewards!
I joke that it took 15 years to complete my ten year plan, but there were some pretty big goals and I was starting from zero on most of them.
–become financially secure = debt free+money in bank
–own a house
–get married, have kids
Not necessarily in that order, and it took moving out of Cali to Texas, but I’ve been living that life for 15 years now and it’s great. Each goal had many sub goals, and priorities and processes along the way.
Part of the process is just finding what you really want from life and not just coasting along.
Next ten years?
–raise good kids
–maintain a healthy marriage
–get thru what’s coming
–position myself to prosper after whatever happens
n
Well done. Now keep it going!
https://youtu.be/mYKWch_MNY0?t=44
As I have said many times “I don’t do nice”!
Good job! The same plan worked for me. I started in the building trades in ’04 at my local school district. Kept taking classes through the union and making my self more valuable. Now I’m the one training the new guys. Been employed through this hole mess, even found a better job. Having a plan really works