What’s impossible? Something that’s never been done? Something unheard of within your reality?

Poppycock.

There was a time when I thought following the crowd was the only way to live. From college to job to marriage to kids to death; I thought that’s how life was.

That your purpose in life was ultimately to prepare yourself to raise children and have them repeat the cycle.

That didn’t sit well with me. I thought, “There had to be another way!” Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no escape. All signs pointed to the regular path—one that I abhorred following.

But soon I discovered that the best way for you to have complete control of your time was to start a business. You had to be your own boss.

I thought it was impossible (as did many around me). “How can I start anything? It takes hard work; something that I hear freaks a lot of people out. Maybe the path most traveled is the better path.”

So I remained on track to becoming an employee. Year after year, I thought that this would be the year everything changed! That joy would suddenly envelope me and everything would be alright!

Sadly, that feeling never came. Instead boredom would seize my emotions. I never cared for school. I loathed the people I was surrounded with. I wanted more than they did.

Suddenly, I began to question the impossible. Maybe I might fail, but what’s the point in not trying?

Why not try to start a movement? Why not challenge what’s possible and what isn’t?

In a week, a blog was created. Since then, I’ve never felt more alive than when I write. I give advice that comes from the heart. I’m doing work that matters!

The ambiguous “they” said it was impossible. “They” said what I tried to attain was a pipe-dream and nothing more. Almost a year later, I’m able to sell products I support every month.

Where are “they” now? At my back, eager to see my next move. Anticipating my actions, yet hoping I fail.

Inside, a fire burns within me. Maybe it’s a thirst for life that’s not yet satisfied. I’m moving forward; I’m excited and a little anxious.

Extraordinary people want my opinions. People write to me. I’m not just a dreamer—I’m an authority. And all this because I rejected “impossible”.

Impossible, I say? Ha! That word will never rule me again. My crusade to inspire will continue whether people think it’s possible or not. The life I seek will be realized—whether the conditions call for it or reject it outright.

Day in, day out, I work—to make my goal not a goal anymore. Whether it’s through reading or writing or connecting or sharing; I do what it takes to focus and keep failure at bay.

You hear that? It takes actual work to make things possible.

When you challenge the impossible, you break barriers. You find solutions to “impossible” problems.

A cure for cancer? Impossible, the idiot says. So should the scientists and doctors give up busting their chops finding a cure because it seems “impossible”?

Should I give up a life where I travel wherever I want and enjoy what it has to offer just because a great many of you don’t want to leave the safety of a path beaten-to-death and risk everything on an exciting journey of conquest/barrier-breaking?

Screw you. F*ck “impossible”.

I’ve seen what comes of following the crowd. I know the end.

I want to live a life where I don’t know tomorrow; where it’s not just a boring routine, week-in and week-out.

I do know people who are happy living this life—for them, I say congratulations on living a life you love. If you’re working 9-5 but you love what you do, GREAT! More power to you.

For me, it’s not enough. I can’t sit in an office for 8 hours. I’ve done that over the course of four years in high school. I’m not doing it again.

I’d rather be a starving artist and make it to my goal within that time than be “safe” and risk getting laid off. It’s time you wised up to the harsh reality that job security doesn’t exist.

“Aha!” you say. “Now you’re claiming job security is “impossible”. You’re not making sense.”

What I’m saying is that it’s more likely that you’ll be laid off in the next 50 years of employment than me never reaching my goal after lots of failures.

I’m allowed to make mistakes and learn from them; as many as I need to keep moving forward. If you make one too many mistakes, you’re out on the street.

I can’t make this any clearer, so I’m going to end with this:

Give up “impossible”. You’ll never know what’s possible if you don’t.

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photo credit: lrargerich

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This post continues a 1-week experiment post series that I’d like to call, “Short and Sweet”. This series will be based on giving concise, quality content to my readers in 300 words or less. Here are parts 1 , 2, 3, and 4.

How many times are you going to let your goals fall flat? Until one too many cold New Year’s Days pass you by?

I’m tired of hearing you talk about your goals—why don’t you just do them?

Stop telling the world what you’re doing and put a photo where your mouth is. Show everyone that you’re doing the work instead of flapping your gums.

I did this all summer believe it or not. Yes, I’m supposed to be a shining example, and I can only use the “I’m human” excuse so many times, but yeah. I messed up.

Moving on.

I kept telling myself to write a book. I swore aloud that I’d make it real. And then I panicked and second-guessed. Time got wasted.

It took me over half the summer to muster up the courage and put my words to paper. But in the end I did it. I completed my first book.

Talking is the death of any goal and every action.

I’ve made too many promises that I never kept; not only on my blog, but in real life to people that matter. To them, I say… mistakes were made. I never meant to mislead anyone. I only ended up shooting myself in the foot.

Okay! Now I’m going to ask you to do one thing for me.

• Open up Notepad (come on, who uses paper anymore?) and title it, “[Name of goal] 30-Day Experiment”. Save it on your desktop.

• Type “DAY 1” in all caps when you open it up. Under this, put the one step you’ll take that day to get closer to the achievement of your goal.

• Write in it everyday by repeating the second step above and moving on to the next day. Miss a single day and the experiment is ruined. Face it. You obviously didn’t care enough about your goal.

• Bookmark this post and come back to it in thirty days. Tell me what you achieved.

Got it? Good. Go.
photo credit: woodleywonderworks

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Hey guys! Long time no post.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been posting a bit infrequently these days. Not because I don’t love you guys anymore (I absolutely do), it’s just that the new e-book I’ve been writing has taken up most of my inspiration. Though there are a lot of changes that have to be made, the direction my book’s heading in is very good.

It’s just exciting to see progress being made.

Now for the most part, I’ve kept you in the dark about the book and haven’t really let loose any real details on what I’ve been working on.

I think it’s time to break the silence.

The premise of the next e-book

The book will address a problem that I feel a lot of us struggle with throughout life.

Do you remember when you were told that you should pursue happiness and that you were to constantly strive to reach your dreams? This sounds fine and dandy, but it often results in you going after what you can’t quantify. You find yourself running after outcomes instead of waking up to the entire process.

In other words, you’re literally “chasing your dreams” and having your efforts fall well short of the mark.

Happiness and dreams; these are things that you can’t touch, and that you can’t hope to realistically achieve.

I’ve actually released a number of posts that have made impressions on the subject, but this e-book will provide more of an in-depth answer to the problem.

It’ll teach you about what you’re supposed to be pursuing instead of the outcome. I also think that this e-book will help a lot more people in ways that my first e-book didn’t.

I played it safe with the first one

Although the free e-book was shared quite a bit—at the very least, a lot more than I expected— it failed to make much of an impact. How do I know this?

Because I played it safe.

I put more effort into making the maxims sound good instead of venturing into uncharted territory and presenting a fresh perspective. Now I don’t dislike the e-book (it’ll be up on the sidebar of the rest of the year, but not a day after that), I just think I could’ve done better. Feel free to grab it while you still can.

Thankfully, there’s such things as second chances.

Let all of yourself come through

With my old experiences behind me, I’ve learned that putting all of yourself into something really makes a difference. When you put passion into a project, it shows.

Even if you don’t know exactly how things will turn out, don’t hold back. Actually, I think that’s all the more reason to not hold back. If you just dip your toe into the pool, will your experience have been worth it? No, because all you did was dip your toe in the pool.

But when you put all of yourself into something, you give yourself permission to feel everything. All five of your senses will be activated and you’ll be truly in the moment.

Jumping into the frying pan

For the entire summer, I haven’t really put myself anywhere. I’ve ventured downtown a lot and hung out with my friends a little bit, but I feel like I’ve been split. My priorities have been all over the place.

• Should I put time in a good e-book? But then I’m stuck inside all summer.

• I don’t want to go downtown today. it’s too hot.

• My friends are going out to dinner… but I think I should write on my blog.

• I’m running out of cash. I think I’ll write a book… but it might suck… back to the blog…

Arrgghh! The curse of indecision.

So I’ve decided to go on a trip to end this madness. I’ve been wanting to put all of myself into something for a long time and I think a voyage out of the country will help clear my head.

But I’m not going anywhere until I put every last ounce of my being into the book. There’s really nothing left for me to lose.

It’s time to put passion back into your life

Where’s your joy for life? Where does it come from?

Are you experiencing it everyday? What are you putting it in?

Life is meant to be lived. You’re not a robot. Stop telling your kids to quit down when you get back home from work. I hear your excuse; you’re tired. Well, they’re enjoying life—if you want peace and quiet, go upstairs and come back down afterwards so that their passion rubs off on you.

Stop looking down on people who live life in their own way. The fact of the matter is that they are living.

What about you? I hope you can answer that with all of yourself, instead of half of it.

P.S. Before the next post is published, the book will have been completed.
photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography

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This post continues a 1-week experiment post series that I’d like to call, “Short and Sweet”. This series will be based on giving concise, quality content to my readers in 300 words or less. Here are parts 1 , 2, and 3.

People are going leaps and bounds over what people expected of them.

Everett is going vagabonding over in Peru.

Jeffrey Tang quit his job.

Glen Allsopp is headed to Thailand.

These are all young people, going after what they want; sacrificing everything they’ve ever known so they can enjoy life. This got me thinking, what am I doing? How am I going after my desires?

Then it occurred to me that I wasn’t. I wasn’t doing anything new. I love to write, but I wanted to experience an adventure.

That’s why I’ve decided to go on a journey myself in the coming weeks.

I feel this trip will really solidify what this site stands for—going beyond your perspective and leaving your comfort zone to do something amazing.

How to support me on my journey

As you all know, I’m trying to support myself through the blog. I spend most of my days adding to my e-book and writing posts (which also added to my desire to go on this trip).

There are three ways that you can help support me:

1. Purchase the books on my sidebar

These books are what got me started blogging for what I believe in in the first place. No doubt they’ll inspire you and give you the tools to do what you’ve always wanted, whether you want to start working for yourself or achieve a more minimalist life.

2. Stay tuned for my next e-book coming out next month

Later next month, I’ll be releasing my premium e-book most likely before classes start. There’s still quite a bit of editing to do, but you can expect it out during the third week of September, at the latest.

3. Hire me for freelance writing

If you have any projects that require my skills in writing or copy, feel free to hire me. All inquires you can send to cjanyasor.yahoo.com.

———–

Now that I’m right on the verge of taking this leap of faith, it’s funny that I remember this one important truth:

To achieve the life you want, your desire must be stronger than your fear.

I’m about to conquer my fear. What will you do with yours?
photo credit: eyeontheweb

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This is a special break in my 1-week “short and sweet” post experiment. Today’s post was originally going to also be short and sweet, but I found I had a lot more to say about today’s particular topic.

The Problem With Personal Development

There’s been a long controversy about whether personal development is legit or not. Some think it’s a worthy and noble pursuit to improve yourself and make life better. I’ve read about people who’ve gotten great results from taking self-help tips to heart.

Others, however, think it’s bullcrap. Personal development and self-help, to the average person, sounds sketchy. And to be honest, the skeptics have a point. To me, hearing about someone selling a self-help book that’ll “improve your life” and “end all your life’s problems” makes me want to scream at the people buying them. I mean, come on, no book is going to change someones life entirely, right?

I guess this is the part where I change my stance and say, “Actually, self-help is good stuff.” Well, I’m not. Self-help is bullcrap—at least in the rosy-colored images that the stereotype has painted it in.

The stereotype

When we hear the words, “self-help”, we instantly picture some nut-job muttering mantras to himself along the lines of:

“Do what you love and the money will follow.”

“As you think, you shall become.”

“I can do anything I want, because I’m special. No other person on Earth is like me.”

If you look closely, you’ll find that each of these terms have major clarity issues. In fact, it’s safe to say that these phrases (and others like them) are just straight-up lies. Lies told to you by so-called personal development “gurus”.

It’s time to wake up.

A long time ago, you could just shout positive quotes and insightful cliches across the web and hundreds of thousands of people would be all over that stuff. Key words to take away from this: a long time ago.

Now, in the 21st century, people are a lot smarter. You can’t just repeat mantras and expect good things to happen to you. If you did, then they already would’ve happened.

You can’t buy someone’s book, expecting it to change your life. Only you can do that.

A self-proclaimed expert can give you all the “you can do it too” encouragement in the world, but if you never end up doing anything with it, be prepared to live the same way you did before your life-changing book purchase.

The point of this post –> 5 Lies the Average Self-Help Expert Will Tell You and What to Do About it

The lies have to stop. You can’t afford to place your hopes and dreams on fake promises—you’re going to need to hear the truth if you really want your life to change.

Below are the top 5 lies I’ve seen on nearly every generic self-help blog I’ve ever read. I’ll be debunking these lies and giving you the truth behind them. Don’t read on if you’re not prepared.

1. Everyone can do it and nothing is impossible

If that were true, everyone would be rich. Everyone would have mansions and fancy cars and yachts and entire armies at their beck and call.

It sucks to say this, but everyone cannot do it. Some people are willing to take more punishment than others. Some people have more experience than others. Some people are just more web-savy than others.

Some people have better genes.

However, everyone has talents. You can do some things better than others. You just can’t do the same things better.

If you believe in nothing else, believe that nothing is impossible that you believe you’re capable of. What this means is up to you.

2. People will always love you for “you”

You think a popular personal brand will cloud people’s minds to the crappy content you provide? If Gary Vaynerchuk put zero thought into his videos, do you think he’d still have an audience? Not likely, as I’ll explain below.

Here’s a dose of realism for you. Look at my last post. Check out how many comments and retweets it got.

Very little, compared to my previous ones. Why? Because it wasn’t as moving or interesting as my other posts. I put next to no thought in making the title. Sure it got one comment, but it didn’t move anyone to talk about it.

This puts a damper on anyone’s belief that love is unconditional. Yes, people will always love you—until you do things to make them not love you anymore.

3. Learn enough about something and you can be an expert on it

This is a bold-faced lie. Just because you’re interested in something, doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be a pro, no matter how many years you spend in deep study. It’s true that if you study something long enough, you’ll be more knowledgeable than the average person. But you won’t have any real world experience.

You need to test your knowledge out in the world before you can start teaching others what you know.

But let’s say you do know enough to teach others. Guess what? That still doesn’t make you an expert.

Knowledge isn’t static, but constantly growing. What you teach people ten years from now won’t be the same as what you teach them today. You should consider yourself a student, and always be learning.

4. Do what you love and the money will follow

Let me tell you something, just in case you haven’t heard. A lot of people have hobbies that they love. Does that necessarily mean they make money from them? Of course not. Lot’s of people sing and dance and write. A vast majority of those people don’t make a dime.

People see the lie above and go ballistic with dreamy-eyed optimism. “Really, that’s all it takes?”

No, there’s actually a lot more to it than that. There are sacrifices you have to make if you want to make money from your passion. Maybe it means foregoing steady income for a few years or dealing the constant criticism from people who used to believe in you. Either way, times will be tough.

If you’re ready for it, however, then by all means go for it. I’m having a hell of a time doing it so far.

5. Stand out and you’ll be noticed

Another vague, wishy-washy mantra. This actually couldn’t be further from the truth. In this day and age, to stand out means to be unique; to be you. Unfortunately, it’s very hard for people to be themselves. So instead of really being themselves, they resort to strictly standing out for the sake of standing out. As a result, this projects an image of trying to be so different that people can tell it’s fake.

In truth, we’re actually already different; society just forces us to stand in (through rules, taboos, peer pressure, etc.).

Only when you’re able to break free of the programming and let go of the limits you put on who you are can you truly be yourself and stand out from the crowd.

Well, there you have it. The top five lies of self-help. Feel free to disagree below.
photo credit: azrainman

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This post continues a 1-week experiment post series that I’d like to call, “Short and Sweet”. This series will be based on giving concise, quality content to my readers in 300 words or less. Here’s part one and two.

“Do you like the smell of adventure?” – Old Spice Guy

You’d like to go an adventure, wouldn’t you? To be free from the routine of life just to spend a few months on a deserted tropical island. Sadly, you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

You’ve got a job to do, am I wrong? Your boss won’t let you. Your spouse won’t stand for it. Your kids….well, they want to go on adventures all the time.

What’s funny is that kids, in general, always seem to be on adventures. Running from one side of the room to the next pretending to be pirates or jaguars or whatever they imagine themselves into.

I know you constantly think to yourself, “If only I could be a kid again”.

Well, I’m here to tell you… get over it. You’ll never be a kid again. That time of your life has past. Your growth plates have long since closed. But that doesn’t mean the adventures have to end.

In fact, as an adult, you’re freedoms are more than unlimited. You can drive a car. You can buy airline tickets to go anywhere in the world.

You have SO much power as an adult—why aren’t you using it? Oh, wait, I know why…

Because you have responsibilities now. You have school to go to. Work to keep up with. Friendships to maintain. Yeah, I’ve heard this before.

Those aren’t excuses. You only live once. Why keep experiencing the same things? Why should kids (less than twice your age) go all over the world in their imagination while you have twice as much power and freedom—

And all you do is work.

That’s it! Drop whatever you’re doing right now. Call in sick. Skip class. Forget your colleagues.

Go do something new. Go to another dimension. Experience something on a completely different level.

Be a child. The adventure is out there. Even inside you.

photo credit: country_boy_shane

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This post continues a 1-week experiment post series that I’d like to call, “Short and Sweet”. This series will be based on giving concise, quality content to my readers in 300 words or less. Here’s part one.

Breaking bad habits is tough, not only because habits control everything you do, but because they force you to think your bad habits are normal.

“That’s crazy talk!” you say. “I know my bad habits aren’t normal!”

If you inherently know they’re abnormal, then why do you keep doing them? Simple. It’s because we are what we do. And if we want to change who we are, we have to change what we do.

Sadly, for most people, that’s easier said than done. <—– This is exactly the problem!

Did you catch that? It’s easier said than done. When you make an attempt to change your habits, you feel more comfortable just saying you’re going to do it than actually doing it. Not good.

Talking isn’t action. Action is action. Even I sometimes forget that this is important to remember. Truth be told, I forgot today.

I kept telling myself, “I’m going to work on my book.” But then I ended up never working on it, pushing it aside until tomorrow. My body thinks this is normal now; to say things and never do them is second nature.

But now I have a secret weapon.

The key lies in action. If it was action that got you into these habits in the first place, action is what’s going to take you out. You need to counteract your bad actions with good ones.

Instead of telling people what you’re going to do, just do it. Rather than say to yourself what your intentions are, write them on paper. Start a 30-day journal chronicling your actions.

Make it your mission to rid your addiction.

Before you put off working on that one big project, ask yourself this:

Is the day over? You can’t even take one incy, wincy step forward?

You know what? Be right back. I have a book to write.


photo credit: John Althouse Cohen

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This post begins a 1-week experiment post series that I’d like to call, “Short and Sweet”. This series will be based on giving concise, quality content to my readers in 300 words or less.

Don’t be who everyone expects you to be.

It took me too long to not only figure this out, but to actually “get it”. [It's similar to seeing the matrix for the first time. You've heard this knowledge everywhere before, but it takes a certain situation for everything to just 'click'.]

When people see me, they would probably think:

1. That’s a a muscular black guy.

2. He must be great at basketball or football.

What’s great about expectations is that when you can shatter them, you create impact. Remember that contrast is king. Not doing what everyone expects you to do and going on to do something amazing is incredibly powerful.

Here’s what people wouldn’t know just by looking at me:

1. I haven’t played basketball or football since the eighth grade.

2. I’m more passionate about inspiring others to do what they love than playing sports.

Everyone expects you to fail because, well, you’re you. You’re not supposed to be different, you’re skillset should be minimal. Your performance has to be sub-par. You’re supposed to blend in.

Good. That’s what you want them to think.

Those who can take advantage of these perception breaks are the ones who are the most successful and most happy. Similar expectations that have been broken in the past:

- You can’t make a living online.

- You can’t learn a language in 3 months.

- You can’t change anything by consuming less.

All were believed impossible. All were immediately shattered.

What expectations will you break?

photo credit: Balaji.B

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When you hear the word, “marketing”, your defenses instantaneously kick into action. What comes to mind is a sleazy guy in a suit and tie, dressed to impress and take your money. Now though, the internet is changing the way we see internet sellers.

Whereas before marketing was a tactic used to extract cash from the customer in exchange for crappy products, it is now becoming more effective by first establishing authenticity and trust. This is where my good friend comes in.

Meet Corbett Barr. The successful owner of Free Pursuits and Think Traffic (two terrific blogs on lifestyle design and increasing web traffic), Corbett has been a location independent entrepreneur since 2006.

In lieu of the launch of his new course, Affiliate Marketing for Beginners, I’ve invited Corbett over to share with you the true message behind marketing and if being a successful affiliate marketer can help you to achieve the life you want.

He’s proof that you can make money online and live location independently by simply being authentic. Read on to learn how:

—————–

John: As I ask every successful blogger I interview, Corbett, how has life been for you this past year? Making any headway on your New Year’s resolutions? Any drastic changes that have taken place?

Corbett: Ah, life has been grand, thanks for asking. Now that you mention it, I should probably go back and review my goals for the year. It’s been a few months.

In any case, I’m having a great time, and that’s one of my big priorities. My business is doing well, and I’ve made some breakthroughs recently in the way I think of the relationship between my personal life and business life.

John: Your two blogs, Free Pursuits and Think Traffic, are two very different, but very successful sites you own. I myself regularly read both of them. How did you become so interested in these topics (lifestyle design, web traffic generation/blog community)?

Corbett: Yes, the sites are different, but I’ve found there is a lot of overlap between the audiences. Free Pursuits is about working for yourself and living the life you want. Think Traffic is about how to build a high-traffic website. In some ways, Think Traffic is the advanced version for people who want to work online.

I became interested in lifestyle design while on a 6-month road trip sabbatical to Mexico with my wife and dog. We met all these fun, energetic people down there living unconventional lifestyles. People who had created small businesses or flexible careers that enabled them to travel extensively or live in another country every year. I wanted to explore the topic more and share it with other people, so I started Free Pursuits.

Then, when Free Pursuits grew quickly over the first year, I realized how much I enjoy building audiences online. That led me to start Think Traffic to help other people build high-traffic sites.

John: One of your most popular posts in recent memory was, “33 Things I’ve Never Told You“. This post took the blogosphere by storm, really solidifying how being authentic with not only your business, but your blog is imperative to having a devoted audience. I know you’ve been asked a ton of questions about this, but how has authenticity changed the way you (or we, as a people) do business?

Corbett: That was a really fun post. Finding your “voice” online is harder than it seems. It takes a lot of courage to really be yourself, but it can be really rewarding and fun.

Authenticity is a really interesting topic. If you think about it, the giant companies that rule the earth have spent the past 50+ years hiding behind marketing and carefully crafting messages for consumers. Now, with so many people starting small businesses online (often with just 1 person), selling really becomes more about having a conversation with your audience instead of pushing things on them. Authenticity is important because in one-on-one relationships (like over social media), people get really turned off when they can tell someone is being fake. Just be yourself, be helpful, and genuinely care about your readers/customers, and everything is much easier.

John: Your latest product, “Affiliate Marketing for Beginners“, is a course that teaches people how to get better at affiliate marketing. How did you become so interested in this field of expertise that you felt you just had to teach it?

Corbett: When I started in affiliate marketing, I had a lot of doubts. It seemed kind of scammy, and like something that was only possible in the “good old days,” when you could game the search engines. But I dove in anyway, and found that in reality, affiliate marketing can be a great additional revenue source. And it can be done in a way (as I like to say), that leaves you feeling good in the morning. No pushy sales techniques required.

I couldn’t find any courses that taught ethical affiliate marketing to true beginners, so I decided to share what I’ve learned in this new course. The response so far has been great, and the course has helped people who otherwise had been turned off by affiliate marketing in the past.

John: The thing I really like about your course is that it teaches the student more than just “how to fish”. It teaches them how to build the fishing net, find the best bait, the best techniques for making the first “perfect cast”, etc. The fishing metaphor aside, you teach people how to become better affiliate marketers, comprehensively. Do you think teaching them how to market online will bring them closer to achieving the lives they want?

Corbett: Haha, that’s awesome. I’m glad you got so much out of it. The thing is, if you learn affiliate marketing completely, as we walk through in the course, you learn so much that’s applicable to running any type of business online. Market research, partnerships, writing content, creating websites, attracting an audience, search engine optimization, it’s all covered.

So yeah, even if affiliate marketing doesn’t become your primary business approach, what you learn will definitely help you get closer to your goal of living the life you want.

John: Glad you could stop by and share what you know with us. Thanks so much, Corbett.

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If you’re looking for an insanely useful course on how to start affiliate marketing (beginner’s only), I highly recommend checking out Affiliate Marketing for Beginners here. I only promote products I support.

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The best way to stay motivated at work is to actually care about what you’re doing. Instead of doing the bare minimum, you’re putting in your best effort each time to get the results you want.

The incentive for most people when applying for a job is to survive. This reason alone is potent enough to force anyone to join the rat race and invest years of their lives into corporate ladder climberism.

A narrative to set the record straight

Let’s say you’ve just graduated college. After months of sending out resumes, you finally break into the working world. As a result of the hours you’ve put in, you’ve been getting periodic raises in pay. Over time, you get more than enough money to feed yourself and live comfortably, so the incentive to survive decreases.

In other words, you begin to care less about the risk to your survival.

Eventually you become much more well off than you were a few years back. Everyone around you praises you for your financial prowess. “You’ve come such a long way”, they’ll say. “When are you gonna start a family?”

Then, boom, another incentive. Originally, you took this job as means for survival. But you’ve forgotten that many years have passed since you’ve first achieved employment and you’re getting to that marrying age. surely they can survive on $70K a year, no? Of course, not! What about your children’s college education? No, you need more money. You need to work even harder to make enough money to pay tuition at all the top schools.

Traditional incentives are all around you now, placed in your lap by society. They say it is your duty. Your duty to get married. Your duty to procreate. Your duty to put your offspring through college.

It is your duty, lest you be ostracized by the better half of society.

Fearing this, you go off and do everything you’ve been told. A girl is married. Children are raised. Colleges are paid for. Years pass and these goals are slowly being achieved.

And then one day, the incentives stop. Your children are gone, having left to continue on the cycle. Your wife is with you, tired but happy to finally be free of the war that is raising kids. Your money is more abundant than ever, despite its heavy depletion due to college fees.

And you? Well, you’re the same.

You’re still the same person fresh out of college working towards an end. The same person searching for some sort of incentive to keep him going and stay alive. The young person who has inevitably become bored of life.

You’re soon going to become an old man or woman. You won’t be able get those decades back. But maybe now you can start looking for your passion before it’s too late.

The right incentives

From birth, we are given incentives. It’s in your best interest to cry and complain over and over until your mother gets you that toy you’ve always wanted. It’s in your best interest to go to college so you can get a high paying job and buy stuff. It’s in your best interest to get married and start a family, lest you end up dying alone.

These incentives have been thrust upon you throughout countless generations. This brainwashes us into thinking that this is the right way to live. In reality, though, there is no “right” way to live. There are no “wrong” incentives. There are simply incentives.

The incentives I amused you with in the narrative above, however, demonstrate how incentives that rise from the dregs of society, the ones that have no uniqueness or personal meaning, lead to, unsurprisingly, unfulfilled lives and big question marks.

Instead of going through the motions, it’s imperative that you ask yourself:

Why do I do what I do? To please myself or to please another?

You don’t need permission to live life your own way. You don’t have to get married. You don’t have to have kids. If do you decide to have kids, you don’t have to put them in soul-sucking institutions that only force them to memorize facts and formulas they aren’t interested in.

In truth, the only “right” incentives are the ones you choose for yourself. You decide what you want to achieve in life. Even if you do settle for a high paying job just so you can buy things, it should be your decision. On the other side of the spectrum, you shouldn’t be ashamed of taking a job that others view as less financially rewarding. If you’re doing something you enjoy, no one else’s opinion matters.

I say put off getting married. Have kids later. Save climbing the corporate ladder for when your creative juices stop flowing. Put the goals that aren’t yours into a box labeled “Things to Forget”.

While you’re young, use your energy to work towards something amazing. Something you care about. Something worth staying motivated in.

So the next time you find yourself looking for advice on how to stay motivated in whatever you do, look inside yourself, and ask why and if you really care.

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

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