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….<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. 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<\/a>. And I needed to set some actual<\/a>, defined<\/a>, quantifiable <\/a>goals. I also moved the direction <\/a>of my efforts slightly from heavy-on-the-materiel to heavy-on-the-financial. And…it largely <\/a>paid off<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n It’s all stuff I should have done years ago, yep. But…maybe better late than never<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and they added to it as I added to theirs…and they proved that they were worth having in my life.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I’m telling ya man….find goals, set them, and then go after them ruthlessly. Worked (up to this point) for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading