15 and fed up of my own BS

[Nexus]

Hello everyone!

I'm a high school student living in Australia. I first stumbled across this forum a few months ago, and decided to read The Millionaire Fastlane shortly after. Unfortunately, after finishing TMF , I forgot about it for a while, until I heard that Unscripted was finally released. I'm now finished with most of the book, and I decided to finally join the forum.

Here's my story:

For most of my life, my dream was to become a physicist. That was until I read Elon Musk's biography early last year, and discovered this amazing thing known as entrepreneurship. From that moment on, my eyes were set on becoming an entrepreneur. For a while, I was absolutely clueless about business and had no idea where to begin. That was until I read TMF .

After that, my perspective on the world completely shifted. It finally clicked. There was one problem, however. While my thinking completely changed, my actions were a completely different story. I wasted a lot of time on mental masturbation and action faking. I never truly began working towards my goal of financial freedom, and eventually lost sight of my aspirations as they were diluted by school, friends and other distractions. Then, I found out that Unscripted was out, and got the e-book. By that time mid-year exams were approaching, so I didn't have much time to read it, let alone take action on what I read. After my exams ended 2 weeks ago, there wasn't much schoolwork left, so I had time to read and think about what I was doing wrong, and why. I realised that all that was stopping me from being where I want to be boiled down to one thing:

Bullshit.

There have been many times where I've heard people say that I have a bad work ethic. I knew they were right, but never changed because I've always been able to get away with it. School never demanded I work hard, and outside of that, I haven't really done anything which requires consistent effort. Instead of forcing myself to improve my work ethic and take real action, I subconciously improved at something completely different. That thing was lying to myself. I kept making excuses about why stuff doesn't need to get done right now, and why I should wait before I start working towards my goals. When I read about the 3 Bs in Unscripted , I started to become much more aware of this, and saw that something needed to change. This was the moment I chose to join TFLF.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. That's it from me.

 

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[abrakamowse]

Welcome to the forum, thanks for sharing!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

[dior616]

Same boat as you, I have the mindset but no execution. I read TMF in 2014 when I was still in high school, and at the time I planned on creating an app, which is where I got stuck. I had no job or money so I told myself when I have $X saved I'll pursue this. Fast forward 3 years later, in college and finished Unscripted and one thing from it hit me. Entrepreneurship isn't something you do when you have a certain amount saved up or when you graduate (my BS excuse). Everyday I tell myself to stop putting it on the backburner because life only gets harder and responsibilities pile up.

Bottom line is, you're still young so you probably haven't faced a FTE, you're too comfortable. So maybe work some entry-level part-time job or look at the consequences your future-self might hate you for.

 

[EricFromCanada]

Hello everyone!

I'm a high school student living in Australia. I first stumbled across this forum a few months ago, and decided to read The Millionaire Fastlane shortly after. Unfortunately, after finishing TMF , I forgot about it for a while, until I heard that Unscripted was finally released. I'm now finished with most of the book, and I decided to finally join the forum.

Here's my story:

For most of my life, my dream was to become a physicist. That was until I read Elon Musk's biography early last year, and discovered this amazing thing known as entrepreneurship. From that moment on, my eyes were set on becoming an entrepreneur. For a while, I was absolutely clueless about business and had no idea where to begin. That was until I read TMF .

After that, my perspective on the world completely shifted. It finally clicked. There was one problem, however. While my thinking completely changed, my actions were a completely different story. I wasted a lot of time on mental masturbation and action faking. I never truly began working towards my goal of financial freedom, and eventually lost sight of my aspirations as they were diluted by school, friends and other distractions. Then, I found out that Unscripted was out, and got the e-book. By that time mid-year exams were approaching, so I didn't have much time to read it, let alone take action on what I read. After my exams ended 2 weeks ago, there wasn't much schoolwork left, so I had time to read and think about what I was doing wrong, and why. I realised that all that was stopping me from being where I want to be boiled down to one thing:

Bullshit.

There have been many times where I've heard people say that I have a bad work ethic. I knew they were right, but never changed because I've always been able to get away with it. School never demanded I work hard, and outside of that, I haven't really done anything which requires consistent effort. Instead of forcing myself to improve my work ethic and take real action, I subconciously improved at something completely different. That thing was lying to myself. I kept making excuses about why stuff doesn't need to get done right now, and why I should wait before I start working towards my goals. When I read about the 3 Bs in Unscripted , I started to become much more aware of this, and saw that something needed to change. This was the moment I chose to join TFLF.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. That's it from me.

Hey man, first off, welcome to the forum. I'm only 16 so I can kind of relate to your story. I have been building my business for about a year now and what has helped me the most is staying focused. What I mean by that is that I cut out any distractions that wasted time (social media, Netflix, YouTube, etc.), and forced myself to work every night after school. At the start, it's pretty difficult and can be tiring but it is 100% worth it. It's all part of the process, you really have to be willing to put in the work others aren't. If you stay focused you can achieve great things.
Best of Luck,
Eric

 

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[GastonEE]

Thank you for sharing your story and welcome to the forum. You can feel at home here

 

[jclean]

Hello everyone!

I'm a high school student living in Australia. I first stumbled across this forum a few months ago, and decided to read The Millionaire Fastlane shortly after. Unfortunately, after finishing TMF, I forgot about it for a while, until I heard that Unscripted was finally released. I'm now finished with most of the book, and I decided to finally join the forum.

Here's my story:

For most of my life, my dream was to become a physicist. That was until I read Elon Musk's biography early last year, and discovered this amazing thing known as entrepreneurship. From that moment on, my eyes were set on becoming an entrepreneur. For a while, I was absolutely clueless about business and had no idea where to begin. That was until I read TMF.

After that, my perspective on the world completely shifted. It finally clicked. There was one problem, however. While my thinking completely changed, my actions were a completely different story. I wasted a lot of time on mental masturbation and action faking. I never truly began working towards my goal of financial freedom, and eventually lost sight of my aspirations as they were diluted by school, friends and other distractions. Then, I found out that Unscripted was out, and got the e-book. By that time mid-year exams were approaching, so I didn't have much time to read it, let alone take action on what I read. After my exams ended 2 weeks ago, there wasn't much schoolwork left, so I had time to read and think about what I was doing wrong, and why. I realised that all that was stopping me from being where I want to be boiled down to one thing:

Bullshit.

There have been many times where I've heard people say that I have a bad work ethic. I knew they were right, but never changed because I've always been able to get away with it. School never demanded I work hard, and outside of that, I haven't really done anything which requires consistent effort. Instead of forcing myself to improve my work ethic and take real action, I subconciously improved at something completely different. That thing was lying to myself. I kept making excuses about why stuff doesn't need to get done right now, and why I should wait before I start working towards my goals. When I read about the 3 Bs in Unscripted , I started to become much more aware of this, and saw that something needed to change. This was the moment I chose to join TFLF.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. That's it from me.

I like the fact you are ambitious,
That is really great and i dont mean this in a bad way,
But when you are 15 you should enjoy live in the first place.
Sure you can build something right now but never forget, you dont stay young forever.
Go for it ! but dont be to hard on yourself ! Stay this hungry and find a need and you will succeed now or later

 

[Nily]

Yo Class 2020. Welcome to the forum.

I was pretty much like you when I was 15 - bad work ethics and the usual shenanigans.

I only pulled myself together at the beginning of year 12 after scoring an estimate of 54 ATAR in my preliminary. HAHA. Luckily I was able to prove myself that I ain't stupid and got into UNSW.

But you're WOKE at 15!

So start a small business now.

Also familiarize yourself with the HSC syllabus and try to pick high scaling science subjects (physics, chemistry) and 3/4 units maths so you can get higher ATAR for the same amount of effort.

 

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[Christopher777]

Read :

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

Any book written by Jim Rohn.

Do this and you're off to a great start. You're 15.

How I wish I have read their stuff at 15.

 

[Nexus]

Thank you to everyone who posted for their advice and for a very warm welcome.

 

[Nexus]

Bottom line is, you're still young so you probably haven't faced a FTE, you're too comfortable. So maybe work some entry-level part-time job or look at the consequences your future-self might hate you for.

That's a good idea, and a little extra money never hurts. I'll definitely look into getting a part-time job.

What I mean by that is that I cut out any distractions that wasted time (social media, Netflix, YouTube, etc.), and forced myself to work every night after school.

I've already removed all the distractions I could (or made it a royal pain in the backside to access), the next step is to fill that void with some work.

Also familiarize yourself with the HSC syllabus and try to pick high scaling science subjects (physics, chemistry) and 3/4 units maths so you can get higher ATAR for the same amount of effort.

It's a bit different here in WA. The only subjects that scale are languages and the higher level maths subjects (methods and specialist). I am going to take physics and chem though, in addition to all the maths I could. Regardless, I'm leaning heavily towards not going to university, especially since the laws are changing for NZ citizens, which will make it a lot more expensive.

The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

I've had that book on my reading list for a while. I'll be sure to check out to the rest as well.

 

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[SquatchMan]

Great job joining at such a young age. Now time to take action. Good to see you got rid of videogames. You're already 20 steps ahead of your peers.

You actually remind me a lot of myself. Except Unscripted or Millionaire Fastlane didn't exist when I was 15. I read Rich Dad Poor Dad. Similar concept though.

Anyway, start doing something on your own just to get that entrepreneurial taste.

Once you have cash hit your bank that you made yourself, especially when young, well things are never the same.

Don't be afraid to do simple stuff like...

Mow lawns.
Paint fences.
Sell lemonade.
Sell school supplies.
Flip textbooks.
Buy broken cell phones from classmates. Fix up. Sell.
Sell cookies.
Fix websites.

Don't worry too much about money at your age (more is always good though). Just do something to get the process of working for yourself down.

 

[100k]

Wow. I'm really impressed that you are this focused and goal oriented at 15. Mad props to you for that!

Dude, here let me save you a lot of time. You will need money to fund your ventures - there will be a lot of projects that won't work out for you, but that is part of the process, and you just need to make sure you figure out why things didn't work and learn from them so you don't keep repeating them.

But remember, you will need MONEY to fund your ventures. So you need something to fall back on. Get a useful skill that you can trade using the internet (I don't know if you live in the country or the city) - but with a skill you can trade via the internet you are wide open to do business with people across the globe, and not just limited by what's available in your city.

Major tip: research "azure cloud architecture", you can take their course online and get certified by Microsoft in less than 3 months. After that, just practice and land your first gig. With this high demand skill - you can demand $100k+ per year working as a freelancer. Plus you can use the skills to pivot to other things.

All the best to you man.

 

[Nily]

That's a good idea, and a little extra money never hurts. I'll definitely look into getting a part-time job.


I've already removed all the distractions I could (or made it a royal pain in the backside to access), the next step is to fill that void with some work.


It's a bit different here in WA. The only subjects that scale are languages and the higher level maths subjects (methods and specialist). I am going to take physics and chem though, in addition to all the maths I could. Regardless, I'm leaning heavily towards not going to university, especially since the laws are changing for NZ citizens, which will make it a lot more expensive.


I've had that book on my reading list for a while. I'll be sure to check out to the rest as well.

I'm not familiar with WA high school syllabus and the changing law for NZ citizens. But it seems like you are aware of what's going on so that's good.

You don't have to go to uni but just make sure you get a decent ATAR so you have options in the future in case you change your mind.

 

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[Kubaoo1]

Hey,
thank you for sharing it. I'm nearly your age - 16 and have the same plans for the future as you. Firstable I wanna say that I live in Poland, Europe so please don't pay attention at some English grammar and so on mistakes. Unlike you I've made a process in any my earning money ideas but now I had to stop because of the parents which say that I can't do any Internet business until 18 - it's illegal here to make money on my own before having registred business and doing it is impossible before 18 (in mostly countries likely too). I had 2 ideas, both about little e-commerce - maybe it's not THAT FastLane but still.

First idea I've made: Dropshipping (no money needed to start)

My first idea was to dropship popular shoes from Chinese sellers from ebay.com to polish allegro.pl (something like ebay/amazon etc. - the only and the biggest site like that in Poland). Idea and performance was great. In month I've made average polish sallary dropshiping only 3 types of shoes - kinda good, right? It was cool to know I'm earning more money than my teachers, working +/- 40min/day.

The performance was simple - someone buys shoes on allegro.pl -> I buy the same shoes at ebay.com paying 1/2 Allegro's price

Why I ended with this? I wanted to try something new - maybe not that good at salary but simply something other and new.

So my second idea: Selling snapbacks all over the Europe

Anyone from Europe could buy my snapback but tbh 95% of buyers were German. I bought at first on Alibaba.com 50 pcs of snapbacks with a sign at the unit price $5.6 and selling for 20EUR. There were other sellers on eBay doing this, selling even for 10EUR but they all had that kind of a snapback in one color in their offer - black - I ordered on Alibaba to do them in color burgundy, waited 2,5 weeks to be made and shipped for me and it started. Sales was great, even better as with my first idea, so I was REALLY shocked.

My mom found out about these my actions because of transaction history of my debt card and that's why I had to end with these.

In that time I really learned much more than anytime of my life.

Now I have few ideas to do just after reaching 18.

Thank anyone for reading this and @Nexus if you want to take over my these 2 ideas - message me, I'll help especially with Allegro.pl if you are interested.

Greets

 

[ZF Lee]

Yo Class 2020. Welcome to the forum.

I was pretty much like you when I was 15 - bad work ethics and the usual shenanigans.

I only pulled myself together at the beginning of year 12 after scoring an estimate of 54 ATAR in my preliminary. HAHA. Luckily I was able to prove myself that I ain't stupid and got into UNSW.

But you're WOKE at 15!

So start a small business now.

Also familiarize yourself with the HSC syllabus and try to pick high scaling science subjects (physics, chemistry) and 3/4 units maths so you can get higher ATAR for the same amount of effort.

Well shit...I know that there were Australians here, but I didn't know that anyone was around the Year 12 level.
@Nexus...welcome.
I'm from Malaysia, but I am taking the WACE..the Western Australian counterpart of the HSC. While I must disagree that school does not encourage work ethic, I share your disgruntlement because it is not that hard work does not lead to success, it is that the hard work is driven through SCRIPT channels, albeit those that are full of dogmas and violation of the UNSCRIPTED framework, namely the commandments of Control and Entry.

On my subjects, I took a mix...Economics, Chemistry, English, Psychology and Maths Methods. Quite balanced and allows me a wide range of options on degrees...but I think that I won't go down that route. Four years in a degree and five to ten years as a fresh graduate in the workplace gaining experience is a horrible time suckage. If I spent even five years on a Fastlane, I could have a thriving business on instead of nulltrack record like most graduates. And I want to work on my Fastlane full-time, I like my focus.

@Nily, 54 ATAR??? What in the world did you do...skip on coursework???
But PM me...I would like to hear your story.

Great job joining at such a young age. Now time to take action. Good to see you got rid of videogames. You're already 20 steps ahead of your peers.

You actually remind me a lot of myself. Except Unscripted or Millionaire Fastlane didn't exist when I was 15. I read Rich Dad Poor Dad. Similar concept though.

Anyway, start doing something on your own just to get that entrepreneurial taste.

Once you have cash hit your bank that you made yourself, especially when young, well things are never the same.

Don't be afraid to do simple stuff like...

Mow lawns.
Paint fences.
Sell lemonade.
Sell school supplies.
Flip textbooks.
Buy broken cell phones from classmates. Fix up. Sell.
Sell cookies.
Fix websites.

Don't worry too much about money at your age (more is always good though). Just do something to get the process of working for yourself down.

Too true! He reminded me of myself too. Now I feel damn old even though I'm 18.
20 steps??? You are too kind. Last time I checked, a person with such mentality was like 1000 steps ahead of his peers, given the current mindset of the mainstream populace. Once he gets sales and the ball rolling, he'll be a solar system away from them in terms of development.

And do you know that at least five of the items on that list are big markets with high demand right? Multi-million tickets with steady demand. They are not 'simple things', so to speak. You just gave OP free ideas that could have made him rich!

Anyway, @Nexus, welcome. I like Australians...they are a dynamic bunch!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Fast forward 3 years later, in college and finished Unscripted and one thing from it hit me. Entrepreneurship isn't something you do when you have a certain amount saved up or when you graduate (my BS excuse).

Yup, it's an identity -- you're an "entrepreneur" and you fight to hit (or maintain) that identity, or you're "aspiring entrepreneur" which doesn't need to fight to maintain the status quo.

Aspiring entrepreneurs stay aspiring because their identity is congruent with the status quo. "When this, when that, that's when I'll do something!"

hat thing was lying to myself. I kept making excuses about why stuff doesn't need to get done right now, and why I should wait before I start working towards my goals. When I read about the 3 Bs in Unscripted , I started to become much more aware of this, and saw that something needed to change. This was the moment I chose to join TFLF.

Relax my friend. You're only 15 and at this stage of your life, you are FAR, FAR ahead of people 3X your age.

Absorb and enjoy your youth. There's nothing that says you can't do that AND expand your entrepreneurial horizons.

 

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[Nikkiahmet]

You are very bright and ambitious for a 15 year old i have to say!
My son is 14 and he is also bright but they way you wrote that was outstanding and well written.
Welcome from me to you and like me i am new her too and just taking my time going through topics and reading to get a highlight of things and advice shared all round is good.
All the best to you

 

[Tanisha]

Hello everyone!

I'm a high school student living in Australia. I first stumbled across this forum a few months ago, and decided to read The Millionaire Fastlane shortly after. Unfortunately, after finishing TMF, I forgot about it for a while, until I heard that Unscripted was finally released. I'm now finished with most of the book, and I decided to finally join the forum.

Here's my story:

For most of my life, my dream was to become a physicist. That was until I read Elon Musk's biography early last year, and discovered this amazing thing known as entrepreneurship. From that moment on, my eyes were set on becoming an entrepreneur. For a while, I was absolutely clueless about business and had no idea where to begin. That was until I read TMF.

After that, my perspective on the world completely shifted. It finally clicked. There was one problem, however. While my thinking completely changed, my actions were a completely different story. I wasted a lot of time on mental masturbation and action faking. I never truly began working towards my goal of financial freedom, and eventually lost sight of my aspirations as they were diluted by school, friends and other distractions. Then, I found out that Unscripted was out, and got the e-book. By that time mid-year exams were approaching, so I didn't have much time to read it, let alone take action on what I read. After my exams ended 2 weeks ago, there wasn't much schoolwork left, so I had time to read and think about what I was doing wrong, and why. I realised that all that was stopping me from being where I want to be boiled down to one thing:

Bullshit.

There have been many times where I've heard people say that I have a bad work ethic. I knew they were right, but never changed because I've always been able to get away with it. School never demanded I work hard, and outside of that, I haven't really done anything which requires consistent effort. Instead of forcing myself to improve my work ethic and take real action, I subconciously improved at something completely different. That thing was lying to myself. I kept making excuses about why stuff doesn't need to get done right now, and why I should wait before I start working towards my goals. When I read about the 3 Bs in Unscripted , I started to become much more aware of this, and saw that something needed to change. This was the moment I chose to join TFLF.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. That's it from me.

EDIT by Mod: The following post was first posted by @AndrewNC in the following thread - GOLD - I'm sorry, but this is going to be painful for a lot of you...

I'm not sure if you're ready for what I'm about to ask you to do.

It's going to be painful, you're most likely going to cry, and it's going to suck at first. But I can promise you that things are going to be a thousand times more painful in 5 or 10 years if you don't do what I'm asking you to do right now.

The reason why it's so important that you do this right now, today...

Somewhere in the world, a man who smoked cigarettes his entire life was just diagnosed with lung cancer during a routine checkup at his doctor's office. The man has a wife, three children, and financial responsibilities to take care of them all.

The doctor just gave him three months to live.

Sitting there on the table feeling naked in his underwear, the grown man breaks out in tears.

Every emotion you could possibly expect to feel in this dark moment came rushing to the surface. The fear of what might happen to his family when he's gone. Will they be able to afford the expensive mortgage payments? Will they be ok without him? The feeling of regret. Knowing that all of his life, he told himself he should quit smoking; but decades later, he never actually did what he said he was going to do.

He's now in shock and crying uncontrollable tears of remorse and regret.

The nurse in the hallway hears his gasps of pain an stopped in her tracks, as her head went down in despair, knowing the man just got the bad news She lets out a deep breath of sorrow and continues to walk on to her next patient.

As the man leaves the doctor's office shell-shocked, in a trance-like state, he reaches his car and sees the cigarette butt on the ground next to the driver's side door.

That was the last cigarette the man ever would ever smoke in his entire life.

The pack of Marlboros resting on his center console was no longer an instinctual habit where he "reaches over and lights up a smoke" but instead is now a painful reminder of his impending death. The sight that once used to be so normal to him now brings up the pain and agony which twists a knot in his stomach.

What's he going to do now? It's already too late.

If he could only look back in time and scream to himself: "Quit smoking now! It's bad for your health."

But what's the problem with that?

People have been telling this to him his entire life. He said he was going to quit smoking on many occasions.

He logically knew that he should have quit smoking decades ago. He saw the pictures of the charred up lungs in health class. All the evidence and reminders were here.

So why, after years of knowing this, did he finally decide to quit now?

Before you answer this question for yourself, I would like you to strip away the content of the problem (doctor/diagnosis/etc.), and pay attention to the deeper structure of what is going on inside of his body, primarily with his:

1. Thoughts, and
2. Emotions

When you strip it down to it's most basic components, the reason why he decided to quit now is because of the painful emotions he felt in the present moment.

Pay attention to the part where you feel what I mean about the present moment.

• When his mother yelled at him to quit smoking in high school? The pain was a 1/10.
• When his girlfriend broke up with him during college because he always smelled like smoke? The pain was a 4/10. Well that was until he went out to the bars and met someone else later that night. In between rounds of beers, he went outside to light up a cigarette with his friends and share a good time.
• When he began getting that smokers cough at the age of 40? Maybe a 3/10 on the pain scale.

But the painful emotions he felt were not strong enough to grab ahold of him and change his behavior.

If you put a frog in a boiling pot of water, he's going to instinctively jump away when he feels the pain. But if the water is warm and he is slowing beginning to boil, he's going to swim around until it''s already too late.

Sorry little froggy, you should have read my email newsletter.

If your favorite delicious treat is on the table in font of you, you're emotions are going to be the force inside of you that drives you to grab it and put it in your mouth.

Imagine as if the emotions you feel are some unseen esoteric force that controls your body. Whatever logic goes on in your head has no defensive power against the emotions that cause you to do what you do. It's like you're possessed.

But what if you could control what emotions you feel, knowing what emotions will cause you to change your behavior?

The moment he felt the realization about him dying in three months (10/10 emotion), the fearful emotions of his family being left behind (20/10 emotion), and everything else that exploded at once when the doctor delivered that nuclear bomb of a message: These painful emotions instantly shifted his behavior.

But at that point, it's already too late. What if you can create this change in your life today?

Think about you and what you're looking to take action on and achieve in your life.That ONE goal you set you for yourself and that you're not taking action towards. You don't feel those emotions of pain that are decades away. It's nothing but a logical thought right now, with no emotional power attached to it.

In 2012, I began learning about mindfulness.

You've probably read The Power of Now where the author famously introduced the concept that it's always the present moment. The past and future are nothing but thoughts in your mind, and it is always the present moment.

Instead of viewing time as something where we "move through time". The time is always the present moment, and we measure things by a movement of energy.

• It's either happening now.
• Or it's not happening now.

• It's either here now.
• Or it's not here now.

If a person says "I'm going to start eating healthy tomorrow." What does that imply? It implies that the unhealthy eating habit is still happening now (problem not solved). When the infamous tomorrow rolls around, let's just eat that chocolate cake one last time (still happening).

If something is not physically happening now, you are pushing it into the indefinite future because you throw it in the category of (not happening).

You have to pull the pain that you'll feel if you continue to procrastinate into your body...right now. Not just the thoughts of what bad things might happen. You need to actually feel the emotions when you look down at your body.

The lesson here: In order to eliminate this procrastination, you have to pull the emotions from the future (not happening), into the present moment (happening now). This way when you think of doing the (bad behavior), you actually feel the emotions of pain. Your emotions you feel in the present moment are what you are going for here...

• When that smoker got dumped by his girlfriend during college and was laughing and partying with his friends at the bar; drinking that beer and "lighting up that smoke" out front...this resulted in him feeling positive emotions when he smokes (in the present moment).
• When you eat that chocolate cake, you feel the positive emotions...in the present moment.

What are you procrastinating towards?

What's the one big goal that you set out for yourself, something that you are not taking action on?

Now is the time where you will learn how to attach so much pain to the thought of not achieving that goal, and pain to the habit of procrastination, that the part of you which procrastinated in the past will be left behind in the doctor's office parking lot next to that man's last cigarette butt and pack of cigarettes which he tossed out the window.

Because when the bad habit is gone, there's no more "Just this one last time."or "I'll do it tomorrow."

If the doctor just warned him that he should quit smoking and he might get cancer from it...that cigarette would be lit up again.

How do you collapse the bad habit of procrastination?

The answer rests in your deepest long-term fear (the complete opposite side of the coin from your successful vision of the future).

On one hand, you achieve your goal (relationship/money/lose weight/etc.) and you have this goal you set out for yourself with these great positive emotions if you achieve it. On the other hand, you have the fear of what life will be like if you don't achieve this goal.

Quit Smoking Example: "Quit smoking - live a long happy life." (Positive emotion).

If you don't quit smoking, what is the worst thing that can happen to you:

• Cancer.
• 3 months to live if you quit now. 3 weeks if you keep smoking.
• Leaving family behind.
• Leaving family in financial ruin because you're the breadwinner.
• How will all this feel if this scenario has already happened? Would you pick up another cigarette? Or would you tack on the extra 2 months to your life and spend it with your loved ones?

Exercise and Eating Healthy: Looking in the mirror being obese, nobody will want to date you, fast forward 20 years, diabetes, having to stab yourself with an insulin needle every day to keep your blood sugar in check (are you simply reading this or can you actually pretend to feel the emotion of the needle being stuck in your arm?), arteries clog up, heart attack, stroke, you can't speak correctly because of the stroke, and you're forced in a wheel chair. Living a life feeling groggy all the time.

Someone else has to wipe your *** because you can't physically do it anymore.

You are sitting in a wheelchair next to a hospital bed, in this vegetable-like state, barely able to communicate as you look at your loved ones feeling helpless and hopeless while you say to yourself:

"What the hell have you been doing your whole life? Why haven't you been taking care of your health?"

And when you look back on how you chose to live your life, you are filled with a feeling of regret and despair.

Looking back from this moment of immense pain, what can you choose to eat instead? Does the bag of potato chips make all this worth it?

Answer this to yourself: What is one way you can be healthier today?

I'm going to stop eating potato chips after typing this to you. Not "one last one", but that food craving already gone. How'd I do it? simply by typing the description above to you, which took me all of two minutes.

Building a your dream business/going after your financial goals/etc:
They call me the ghost of Christmas future.
You're going to be 65 years old and laid off from your job with no pension because we outsourced what you do to technology, you're living paycheck to paycheck and you're past due on your rent. You're stuck and (by this point) you have no escape. Nobody is going to hire you with your outdated skills now. The procrastinative actions (I made this word up) you've been taking in the past have finally caught up to you.

The landlord evicts you, you're buried in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The collectors keep calling you and you eventually have to turn of your phone because you can't stand the sound of your ringtone. As you drag the last bag of belongings from your now-empty apartment to your car, you realize that your car has just been repossessed moments ago as you're now homeless on the street at the age of 65 with one suitcase full of belongings.

No friends, no family, no nothing because you've been playing computer games 12 hours a day.

At this point, there's no coming back from this. It's already too late.

Embarrassed. Ashamed. You should have been building up your business and skill-set decades ago instead of browsing around on social media, watching TV, drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and playing video games.
Or what is it that you like to do instead? What's that one thing you've been doing in your life that has held you back from your dreams?

But it's too late for that now.

Are you just emotionlessly reading these words, or are you actually feeling the emotions in this present moment?

Stop reading. Feel your body. Are the emotions here? Yes or no?

Now here's the real kicker: From this emotional state of already being in this worst fear, looking at the same things that once were joyful (procrastinating) looks a bit different to you, doesn't it?

Keep building them up from this worst fear and then when you imagine that you live it now, look back at all the things you could have shouldn't have done.

All because you didn't commit a few hours a night after work building your future right now.

You get the picture. What is it that you're working on as you read this...Shopping addiction? Gambling too much? Relationships?

I'm still not craving those potato chips. They've been my downfall for six months. Yuck. Now they're gone.

Here is the final test:

When you write out your worst case scenario if you keep procrastinating on the one thing you know you are here to do, go into an exaggerated amount of detail like I did here. It's not enough to just put the words on paper. Let me repeat that. It's not enough to just put the words on paper.

You have to invoke so much pain in what will happen if you don't take action towards achieving your goals; that you feel this pain in the present moment.

But even that's not enough.

Are you sitting around feeling the emotions in despair? Or are you feeling the emotions that drive you to do something? Are you sitting around with your hand in a scorching hot fire? Or are you pulling your hand away?

1. You have to feel the painful emotions (not in the future), but in the present moment. Look down at your body and do you feel them? Are these emotions attached to the thought of procrastinating or that bad habit of yours?
2. You have to make sure the emotions drive you to actually do something right now, today. Yeah, you can sit around in the hot fire and feel the pain, but it means nothing if you don't jump out.

What's one change you've already made in your life by reading what you read today?

Just the simple thought of not doing what you need to do should make you feel as painfully miserable as the man felt in the moment the doctor diagnosed him with cancer that will kill him in three months.

1. Build your dream.
2. Eat that apple and jump on the treadmill.
3. Say hi to your future partner.

All of a sudden, the pain of doing the procrastinative (there's that word again) things you've been doing is so much worse than going out and just doing what you failed to do in the past.

And I say this in all seriousness: If you're not crying or feeling the nuclear-bomb-of-an-emotion with just the thought of not taking action towards your goal; you're not attaching enough pain to it.

I have a challenge for you: Can you invoke the feelings of pain right now?

Are you actually doing something to change because of the feelings?

After reading this, aren't you a little disappointed in the way you've been procrastinating knowing where it led you in this painful life of yours? It's too late to escape now that it's here. But looking back in time, what can you begin to do differently to avoid this trap?
Before you go to sleep tonight, write out your own exaggerated pain story. Can you make it more painful and dramatic than mine?

I hope you cry.

Because that's what causes you to change and you can thank me later.

I told you that it'll be painful at first, but what this does it collapse the habit of procrastination, and these emotions drive you to do what you need to do.

 

[ZF Lee]

I'm not sure if you're ready for what I'm about to ask you to do.

It's going to be painful, you're most likely going to cry, and it's going to suck at first. But I can promise you that things are going to be a thousand times more painful in 5 or 10 years if you don't do what I'm asking you to do right now.

The reason why it's so important that you do this right now, today...

Somewhere in the world, a man who smoked cigarettes his entire life was just diagnosed with lung cancer during a routine checkup at his doctor's office. The man has a wife, three children, and financial responsibilities to take care of them all.

The doctor just gave him three months to live.

Sitting there on the table feeling naked in his underwear, the grown man breaks out in tears.

Every emotion you could possibly expect to feel in this dark moment came rushing to the surface. The fear of what might happen to his family when he's gone. Will they be able to afford the expensive mortgage payments? Will they be ok without him? The feeling of regret. Knowing that all of his life, he told himself he should quit smoking; but decades later, he never actually did what he said he was going to do.

He's now in shock and crying uncontrollable tears of remorse and regret.

The nurse in the hallway hears his gasps of pain an stopped in her tracks, as her head went down in despair, knowing the man just got the bad news She lets out a deep breath of sorrow and continues to walk on to her next patient.

As the man leaves the doctor's office shell-shocked, in a trance-like state, he reaches his car and sees the cigarette butt on the ground next to the driver's side door.

That was the last cigarette the man ever would ever smoke in his entire life.

The pack of Marlboros resting on his center console was no longer an instinctual habit where he "reaches over and lights up a smoke" but instead is now a painful reminder of his impending death. The sight that once used to be so normal to him now brings up the pain and agony which twists a knot in his stomach.

What's he going to do now? It's already too late.

If he could only look back in time and scream to himself: "Quit smoking now! It's bad for your health."

But what's the problem with that?

People have been telling this to him his entire life. He said he was going to quit smoking on many occasions.

He logically knew that he should have quit smoking decades ago. He saw the pictures of the charred up lungs in health class. All the evidence and reminders were here.

So why, after years of knowing this, did he finally decide to quit now?

Before you answer this question for yourself, I would like you to strip away the content of the problem (doctor/diagnosis/etc.), and pay attention to the deeper structure of what is going on inside of his body, primarily with his:

1. Thoughts, and
2. Emotions

When you strip it down to it's most basic components, the reason why he decided to quit now is because of the painful emotions he felt in the present moment.

Pay attention to the part where you feel what I mean about the present moment.

• When his mother yelled at him to quit smoking in high school? The pain was a 1/10.
• When his girlfriend broke up with him during college because he always smelled like smoke? The pain was a 4/10. Well that was until he went out to the bars and met someone else later that night. In between rounds of beers, he went outside to light up a cigarette with his friends and share a good time.
• When he began getting that smokers cough at the age of 40? Maybe a 3/10 on the pain scale.

But the painful emotions he felt were not strong enough to grab ahold of him and change his behavior.

If you put a frog in a boiling pot of water, he's going to instinctively jump away when he feels the pain. But if the water is warm and he is slowing beginning to boil, he's going to swim around until it''s already too late.

Sorry little froggy, you should have read my email newsletter.

If your favorite delicious treat is on the table in font of you, you're emotions are going to be the force inside of you that drives you to grab it and put it in your mouth.

Imagine as if the emotions you feel are some unseen esoteric force that controls your body. Whatever logic goes on in your head has no defensive power against the emotions that cause you to do what you do. It's like you're possessed.

But what if you could control what emotions you feel, knowing what emotions will cause you to change your behavior?

The moment he felt the realization about him dying in three months (10/10 emotion), the fearful emotions of his family being left behind (20/10 emotion), and everything else that exploded at once when the doctor delivered that nuclear bomb of a message: These painful emotions instantly shifted his behavior.

But at that point, it's already too late. What if you can create this change in your life today?

Think about you and what you're looking to take action on and achieve in your life.That ONE goal you set you for yourself and that you're not taking action towards. You don't feel those emotions of pain that are decades away. It's nothing but a logical thought right now, with no emotional power attached to it.

In 2012, I began learning about mindfulness.

You've probably read The Power of Now where the author famously introduced the concept that it's always the present moment. The past and future are nothing but thoughts in your mind, and it is always the present moment.

Instead of viewing time as something where we "move through time". The time is always the present moment, and we measure things by a movement of energy.

• It's either happening now.
• Or it's not happening now.

• It's either here now.
• Or it's not here now.

If a person says "I'm going to start eating healthy tomorrow." What does that imply? It implies that the unhealthy eating habit is still happening now (problem not solved). When the infamous tomorrow rolls around, let's just eat that chocolate cake one last time (still happening).

If something is not physically happening now, you are pushing it into the indefinite future because you throw it in the category of (not happening).

You have to pull the pain that you'll feel if you continue to procrastinate into your body...right now. Not just the thoughts of what bad things might happen. You need to actually feel the emotions when you look down at your body.

The lesson here: In order to eliminate this procrastination, you have to pull the emotions from the future (not happening), into the present moment (happening now). This way when you think of doing the (bad behavior), you actually feel the emotions of pain. Your emotions you feel in the present moment are what you are going for here...

• When that smoker got dumped by his girlfriend during college and was laughing and partying with his friends at the bar; drinking that beer and "lighting up that smoke" out front...this resulted in him feeling positive emotions when he smokes (in the present moment).
• When you eat that chocolate cake, you feel the positive emotions...in the present moment.

What are you procrastinating towards?

What's the one big goal that you set out for yourself, something that you are not taking action on?

Now is the time where you will learn how to attach so much pain to the thought of not achieving that goal, and pain to the habit of procrastination, that the part of you which procrastinated in the past will be left behind in the doctor's office parking lot next to that man's last cigarette butt and pack of cigarettes which he tossed out the window.

Because when the bad habit is gone, there's no more "Just this one last time."or "I'll do it tomorrow."

If the doctor just warned him that he should quit smoking and he might get cancer from it...that cigarette would be lit up again.

How do you collapse the bad habit of procrastination?

The answer rests in your deepest long-term fear (the complete opposite side of the coin from your successful vision of the future).

On one hand, you achieve your goal (relationship/money/lose weight/etc.) and you have this goal you set out for yourself with these great positive emotions if you achieve it. On the other hand, you have the fear of what life will be like if you don't achieve this goal.

Quit Smoking Example: "Quit smoking - live a long happy life." (Positive emotion).

If you don't quit smoking, what is the worst thing that can happen to you:

• Cancer.
• 3 months to live if you quit now. 3 weeks if you keep smoking.
• Leaving family behind.
• Leaving family in financial ruin because you're the breadwinner.
• How will all this feel if this scenario has already happened? Would you pick up another cigarette? Or would you tack on the extra 2 months to your life and spend it with your loved ones?

Exercise and Eating Healthy: Looking in the mirror being obese, nobody will want to date you, fast forward 20 years, diabetes, having to stab yourself with an insulin needle every day to keep your blood sugar in check (are you simply reading this or can you actually pretend to feel the emotion of the needle being stuck in your arm?), arteries clog up, heart attack, stroke, you can't speak correctly because of the stroke, and you're forced in a wheel chair. Living a life feeling groggy all the time.

Someone else has to wipe your *** because you can't physically do it anymore.

You are sitting in a wheelchair next to a hospital bed, in this vegetable-like state, barely able to communicate as you look at your loved ones feeling helpless and hopeless while you say to yourself:

"What the hell have you been doing your whole life? Why haven't you been taking care of your health?"

And when you look back on how you chose to live your life, you are filled with a feeling of regret and despair.

Looking back from this moment of immense pain, what can you choose to eat instead? Does the bag of potato chips make all this worth it?

Answer this to yourself: What is one way you can be healthier today?

I'm going to stop eating potato chips after typing this to you. Not "one last one", but that food craving already gone. How'd I do it? simply by typing the description above to you, which took me all of two minutes.

Building a your dream business/going after your financial goals/etc:
They call me the ghost of Christmas future.
You're going to be 65 years old and laid off from your job with no pension because we outsourced what you do to technology, you're living paycheck to paycheck and you're past due on your rent. You're stuck and (by this point) you have no escape. Nobody is going to hire you with your outdated skills now. The procrastinative actions (I made this word up) you've been taking in the past have finally caught up to you.

The landlord evicts you, you're buried in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The collectors keep calling you and you eventually have to turn of your phone because you can't stand the sound of your ringtone. As you drag the last bag of belongings from your now-empty apartment to your car, you realize that your car has just been repossessed moments ago as you're now homeless on the street at the age of 65 with one suitcase full of belongings.

No friends, no family, no nothing because you've been playing computer games 12 hours a day.

At this point, there's no coming back from this. It's already too late.

Embarrassed. Ashamed. You should have been building up your business and skill-set decades ago instead of browsing around on social media, watching TV, drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and playing video games.
Or what is it that you like to do instead? What's that one thing you've been doing in your life that has held you back from your dreams?

But it's too late for that now.

Are you just emotionlessly reading these words, or are you actually feeling the emotions in this present moment?

Stop reading. Feel your body. Are the emotions here? Yes or no?

Now here's the real kicker: From this emotional state of already being in this worst fear, looking at the same things that once were joyful (procrastinating) looks a bit different to you, doesn't it?

Keep building them up from this worst fear and then when you imagine that you live it now, look back at all the things you could have shouldn't have done.

All because you didn't commit a few hours a night after work building your future right now.

You get the picture. What is it that you're working on as you read this...Shopping addiction? Gambling too much? Relationships?

I'm still not craving those potato chips. They've been my downfall for six months. Yuck. Now they're gone.

Here is the final test:

When you write out your worst case scenario if you keep procrastinating on the one thing you know you are here to do, go into an exaggerated amount of detail like I did here. It's not enough to just put the words on paper. Let me repeat that. It's not enough to just put the words on paper.

You have to invoke so much pain in what will happen if you don't take action towards achieving your goals; that you feel this pain in the present moment.

But even that's not enough.

Are you sitting around feeling the emotions in despair? Or are you feeling the emotions that drive you to do something? Are you sitting around with your hand in a scorching hot fire? Or are you pulling your hand away?

1. You have to feel the painful emotions (not in the future), but in the present moment. Look down at your body and do you feel them? Are these emotions attached to the thought of procrastinating or that bad habit of yours?
2. You have to make sure the emotions drive you to actually do something right now, today. Yeah, you can sit around in the hot fire and feel the pain, but it means nothing if you don't jump out.

What's one change you've already made in your life by reading what you read today?

Just the simple thought of not doing what you need to do should make you feel as painfully miserable as the man felt in the moment the doctor diagnosed him with cancer that will kill him in three months.

1. Build your dream.
2. Eat that apple and jump on the treadmill.
3. Say hi to your future partner.

All of a sudden, the pain of doing the procrastinative (there's that word again) things you've been doing is so much worse than going out and just doing what you failed to do in the past.

And I say this in all seriousness: If you're not crying or feeling the nuclear-bomb-of-an-emotion with just the thought of not taking action towards your goal; you're not attaching enough pain to it.

I have a challenge for you: Can you invoke the feelings of pain right now?

Are you actually doing something to change because of the feelings?

After reading this, aren't you a little disappointed in the way you've been procrastinating knowing where it led you in this painful life of yours? It's too late to escape now that it's here. But looking back in time, what can you begin to do differently to avoid this trap?
Before you go to sleep tonight, write out your own exaggerated pain story. Can you make it more painful and dramatic than mine?

I hope you cry.

Because that's what causes you to change and you can thank me later.

I told you that it'll be painful at first, but what this does it collapse the habit of procrastination, and these emotions drive you to do what you need to do.

Did you just copied @AndrewNC's post?!
GOLD - I'm sorry, but this is going to be painful for a lot of you...

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

WOW 15? Well, firstly congratulations and welcome.

If I thought half as brilliant as you when I was 15, well I would have already been onto making 10 figures by the time I read TMF and Unscripted .

While it is cool to enjoy being 15 and all that comes with it, trust me, it surely is even greater to have your mindset and sense of direction on the great things in life.

There are 8 year olds who are CEOs of their companies and with the right support, they're headed to building a conglomerate, so, HUGE congratulations on already being Unscripted from all the BS scripts life throws our way.

If you already have a great idea then kudos, with the application of TMF and Unscripted , you'd well be on your way to building greatness, even if you make mistakes in between, at least you would have already been on your pathway of great lessons.

I like that Unscripted really gets into teaching discipline and stickability, I read TMF and comfort made me fall off the bandwagon; but I have had a couple FTEs well and Unscripted really helps me overstand how to get myself back together again, as I apply the principles.

Kudos to you, you're on your path towards greatness!

 

[Tanisha]

yes i thought it was a good post for his situation

 

[Nexus]

Don't be afraid to do simple stuff like...

Mow lawns.
Paint fences.
Sell lemonade.
Sell school supplies.
Flip textbooks.
Buy broken cell phones from classmates. Fix up. Sell.
Sell cookies.
Fix websites.

A lot of these gigs never even crossed my mind. Like @ZF Lee said a handful of them have potential to be great Fastlane businesses. Thanks for the input.

Well shit...I know that there were Australians here, but I didn't know that anyone was around the Year 12 level.
@Nexus...welcome.
I'm from Malaysia, but I am taking the WACE..the Western Australian counterpart of the HSC. While I must disagree that school does not encourage work ethic, I share your disgruntlement because it is not that hard work does not lead to success, it is that the hard work is driven through SCRIPT channels, albeit those that are full of dogmas and violation of the UNSCRIPTED framework, namely the commandments of Control and Entry.

On my subjects, I took a mix...Economics, Chemistry, English, Psychology and Maths Methods. Quite balanced and allows me a wide range of options on degrees...but I think that I won't go down that route. Four years in a degree and five to ten years as a fresh graduate in the workplace gaining experience is a horrible time suckage. If I spent even five years on a Fastlane, I could have a thriving business on instead of nulltrack record like most graduates. And I want to work on my Fastlane full-time, I like my focus.

@Nily, 54 ATAR??? What in the world did you do...skip on coursework???
But PM me...I would like to hear your story.


Too true! He reminded me of myself too. Now I feel damn old even though I'm 18.
20 steps??? You are too kind. Last time I checked, a person with such mentality was like 1000 steps ahead of his peers, given the current mindset of the mainstream populace. Once he gets sales and the ball rolling, he'll be a solar system away from them in terms of development.

And do you know that at least five of the items on that list are big markets with high demand right? Multi-million tickets with steady demand. They are not 'simple things', so to speak. You just gave OP free ideas that could have made him rich!

Anyway, @Nexus, welcome. I like Australians...they are a dynamic bunch!

Nice seeing you on here @ZF Lee, many thanks for the cordial welcome.

It is very true that school usually doesn't discourage work ethic, it's just that I've been able to do really well with minimal effort. Mind you I haven't even started ATAR yet, which is usually the point where people who have the brains to go on cruise mode through school get crushed. I'll make sure not to be one of those people.

You make a good point on hard work not necessarily leading to success. In the case of doing it the SCRIPTED way, it's like building a home on a weak foundation. It's a lot of hard work laying all the bricks, but it's going to collapse sooner or later, and there are way better ways of having a house than building it yourself.

Also, I'm not actually Australian, I just moved here 6 months ago. I was born in New Zealand and I'm originally from Iraq, but you're right about Aussies, very fun to be around.

Absorb and enjoy your youth. There's nothing that says you can't do that AND expand your entrepreneurial horizons.

Fair point. You're only young once after all.

yes i thought it was a good post for his situation

I appreciate you trying to help with that post. You're right about it being very helpful, it was the straw that broke the camel's back in my case, prior to joining the forum. I do not at all mean this in an offensive way, but copying and pasting it as a message of your own is disrespectful to the origical author, AndrewNC. You could have posted a link to it.

 

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[Nexus]

Thanks again for everyone that took the time out of their day to post a reply to this thread, there has been some very helpful advice posted here, and I am endlessly grateful for that.

Advice, however, is only gold hidden underground, until someone takes action on it and digs it out. It's pretty clear that getting a part-time job is a good chunk of dirt that I can start digging out. I'll start by looking into all the laws, considering I'm not 16 yet, which might pose some issues. If there are legal issues regarding hiring under-16s then there are a myriad of other options to get my hands dirty. There's a good chance I'll start a progress thread to help people in a similar boat to mine in the near future, so look out for that.

 

[Nily]

Well shit...I know that there were Australians here, but I didn't know that anyone was around the Year 12 level.
@Nexus...welcome.
I'm from Malaysia, but I am taking the WACE..the Western Australian counterpart of the HSC. While I must disagree that school does not encourage work ethic, I share your disgruntlement because it is not that hard work does not lead to success, it is that the hard work is driven through SCRIPT channels, albeit those that are full of dogmas and violation of the UNSCRIPTED framework, namely the commandments of Control and Entry.

On my subjects, I took a mix...Economics, Chemistry, English, Psychology and Maths Methods. Quite balanced and allows me a wide range of options on degrees...but I think that I won't go down that route. Four years in a degree and five to ten years as a fresh graduate in the workplace gaining experience is a horrible time suckage. If I spent even five years on a Fastlane, I could have a thriving business on instead of nulltrack record like most graduates. And I want to work on my Fastlane full-time, I like my focus.

@Nily, 54 ATAR??? What in the world did you do...skip on coursework???
But PM me...I would like to hear your story.


Too true! He reminded me of myself too. Now I feel damn old even though I'm 18.
20 steps??? You are too kind. Last time I checked, a person with such mentality was like 1000 steps ahead of his peers, given the current mindset of the mainstream populace. Once he gets sales and the ball rolling, he'll be a solar system away from them in terms of development.

And do you know that at least five of the items on that list are big markets with high demand right? Multi-million tickets with steady demand. They are not 'simple things', so to speak. You just gave OP free ideas that could have made him rich!

Anyway, @Nexus, welcome. I like Australians...they are a dynamic bunch!

I didn't skip anything. I just didn't give a shit about high school until I realised how much I have neglected my study. Preliminary is a test drive for Year 11s before they have do their High School Certificate (HSC) in Year 12.

There's nothing special about my story really. Just hunkered down, got help and tried to stay in the top 5 in all my subjects, except maths LOL.

 

[Nily]

I'm not sure if you're ready for what I'm about to ask you to do.

It's going to be painful, you're most likely going to cry, and it's going to suck at first. But I can promise you that things are going to be a thousand times more painful in 5 or 10 years if you don't do what I'm asking you to do right now.

The reason why it's so important that you do this right now, today...

Somewhere in the world, a man who smoked cigarettes his entire life was just diagnosed with lung cancer during a routine checkup at his doctor's office. The man has a wife, three children, and financial responsibilities to take care of them all.

The doctor just gave him three months to live.

Sitting there on the table feeling naked in his underwear, the grown man breaks out in tears.

Every emotion you could possibly expect to feel in this dark moment came rushing to the surface. The fear of what might happen to his family when he's gone. Will they be able to afford the expensive mortgage payments? Will they be ok without him? The feeling of regret. Knowing that all of his life, he told himself he should quit smoking; but decades later, he never actually did what he said he was going to do.

He's now in shock and crying uncontrollable tears of remorse and regret.

The nurse in the hallway hears his gasps of pain an stopped in her tracks, as her head went down in despair, knowing the man just got the bad news She lets out a deep breath of sorrow and continues to walk on to her next patient.

As the man leaves the doctor's office shell-shocked, in a trance-like state, he reaches his car and sees the cigarette butt on the ground next to the driver's side door.

That was the last cigarette the man ever would ever smoke in his entire life.

The pack of Marlboros resting on his center console was no longer an instinctual habit where he "reaches over and lights up a smoke" but instead is now a painful reminder of his impending death. The sight that once used to be so normal to him now brings up the pain and agony which twists a knot in his stomach.

What's he going to do now? It's already too late.

If he could only look back in time and scream to himself: "Quit smoking now! It's bad for your health."

But what's the problem with that?

People have been telling this to him his entire life. He said he was going to quit smoking on many occasions.

He logically knew that he should have quit smoking decades ago. He saw the pictures of the charred up lungs in health class. All the evidence and reminders were here.

So why, after years of knowing this, did he finally decide to quit now?

Before you answer this question for yourself, I would like you to strip away the content of the problem (doctor/diagnosis/etc.), and pay attention to the deeper structure of what is going on inside of his body, primarily with his:

1. Thoughts, and
2. Emotions

When you strip it down to it's most basic components, the reason why he decided to quit now is because of the painful emotions he felt in the present moment.

Pay attention to the part where you feel what I mean about the present moment.

• When his mother yelled at him to quit smoking in high school? The pain was a 1/10.
• When his girlfriend broke up with him during college because he always smelled like smoke? The pain was a 4/10. Well that was until he went out to the bars and met someone else later that night. In between rounds of beers, he went outside to light up a cigarette with his friends and share a good time.
• When he began getting that smokers cough at the age of 40? Maybe a 3/10 on the pain scale.

But the painful emotions he felt were not strong enough to grab ahold of him and change his behavior.

If you put a frog in a boiling pot of water, he's going to instinctively jump away when he feels the pain. But if the water is warm and he is slowing beginning to boil, he's going to swim around until it''s already too late.

Sorry little froggy, you should have read my email newsletter.

If your favorite delicious treat is on the table in font of you, you're emotions are going to be the force inside of you that drives you to grab it and put it in your mouth.

Imagine as if the emotions you feel are some unseen esoteric force that controls your body. Whatever logic goes on in your head has no defensive power against the emotions that cause you to do what you do. It's like you're possessed.

But what if you could control what emotions you feel, knowing what emotions will cause you to change your behavior?

The moment he felt the realization about him dying in three months (10/10 emotion), the fearful emotions of his family being left behind (20/10 emotion), and everything else that exploded at once when the doctor delivered that nuclear bomb of a message: These painful emotions instantly shifted his behavior.

But at that point, it's already too late. What if you can create this change in your life today?

Think about you and what you're looking to take action on and achieve in your life.That ONE goal you set you for yourself and that you're not taking action towards. You don't feel those emotions of pain that are decades away. It's nothing but a logical thought right now, with no emotional power attached to it.

In 2012, I began learning about mindfulness.

You've probably read The Power of Now where the author famously introduced the concept that it's always the present moment. The past and future are nothing but thoughts in your mind, and it is always the present moment.

Instead of viewing time as something where we "move through time". The time is always the present moment, and we measure things by a movement of energy.

• It's either happening now.
• Or it's not happening now.

• It's either here now.
• Or it's not here now.

If a person says "I'm going to start eating healthy tomorrow." What does that imply? It implies that the unhealthy eating habit is still happening now (problem not solved). When the infamous tomorrow rolls around, let's just eat that chocolate cake one last time (still happening).

If something is not physically happening now, you are pushing it into the indefinite future because you throw it in the category of (not happening).

You have to pull the pain that you'll feel if you continue to procrastinate into your body...right now. Not just the thoughts of what bad things might happen. You need to actually feel the emotions when you look down at your body.

The lesson here: In order to eliminate this procrastination, you have to pull the emotions from the future (not happening), into the present moment (happening now). This way when you think of doing the (bad behavior), you actually feel the emotions of pain. Your emotions you feel in the present moment are what you are going for here...

• When that smoker got dumped by his girlfriend during college and was laughing and partying with his friends at the bar; drinking that beer and "lighting up that smoke" out front...this resulted in him feeling positive emotions when he smokes (in the present moment).
• When you eat that chocolate cake, you feel the positive emotions...in the present moment.

What are you procrastinating towards?

What's the one big goal that you set out for yourself, something that you are not taking action on?

Now is the time where you will learn how to attach so much pain to the thought of not achieving that goal, and pain to the habit of procrastination, that the part of you which procrastinated in the past will be left behind in the doctor's office parking lot next to that man's last cigarette butt and pack of cigarettes which he tossed out the window.

Because when the bad habit is gone, there's no more "Just this one last time."or "I'll do it tomorrow."

If the doctor just warned him that he should quit smoking and he might get cancer from it...that cigarette would be lit up again.

How do you collapse the bad habit of procrastination?

The answer rests in your deepest long-term fear (the complete opposite side of the coin from your successful vision of the future).

On one hand, you achieve your goal (relationship/money/lose weight/etc.) and you have this goal you set out for yourself with these great positive emotions if you achieve it. On the other hand, you have the fear of what life will be like if you don't achieve this goal.

Quit Smoking Example: "Quit smoking - live a long happy life." (Positive emotion).

If you don't quit smoking, what is the worst thing that can happen to you:

• Cancer.
• 3 months to live if you quit now. 3 weeks if you keep smoking.
• Leaving family behind.
• Leaving family in financial ruin because you're the breadwinner.
• How will all this feel if this scenario has already happened? Would you pick up another cigarette? Or would you tack on the extra 2 months to your life and spend it with your loved ones?

Exercise and Eating Healthy: Looking in the mirror being obese, nobody will want to date you, fast forward 20 years, diabetes, having to stab yourself with an insulin needle every day to keep your blood sugar in check (are you simply reading this or can you actually pretend to feel the emotion of the needle being stuck in your arm?), arteries clog up, heart attack, stroke, you can't speak correctly because of the stroke, and you're forced in a wheel chair. Living a life feeling groggy all the time.

Someone else has to wipe your *** because you can't physically do it anymore.

You are sitting in a wheelchair next to a hospital bed, in this vegetable-like state, barely able to communicate as you look at your loved ones feeling helpless and hopeless while you say to yourself:

"What the hell have you been doing your whole life? Why haven't you been taking care of your health?"

And when you look back on how you chose to live your life, you are filled with a feeling of regret and despair.

Looking back from this moment of immense pain, what can you choose to eat instead? Does the bag of potato chips make all this worth it?

Answer this to yourself: What is one way you can be healthier today?

I'm going to stop eating potato chips after typing this to you. Not "one last one", but that food craving already gone. How'd I do it? simply by typing the description above to you, which took me all of two minutes.

Building a your dream business/going after your financial goals/etc:
They call me the ghost of Christmas future.
You're going to be 65 years old and laid off from your job with no pension because we outsourced what you do to technology, you're living paycheck to paycheck and you're past due on your rent. You're stuck and (by this point) you have no escape. Nobody is going to hire you with your outdated skills now. The procrastinative actions (I made this word up) you've been taking in the past have finally caught up to you.

The landlord evicts you, you're buried in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. The collectors keep calling you and you eventually have to turn of your phone because you can't stand the sound of your ringtone. As you drag the last bag of belongings from your now-empty apartment to your car, you realize that your car has just been repossessed moments ago as you're now homeless on the street at the age of 65 with one suitcase full of belongings.

No friends, no family, no nothing because you've been playing computer games 12 hours a day.

At this point, there's no coming back from this. It's already too late.

Embarrassed. Ashamed. You should have been building up your business and skill-set decades ago instead of browsing around on social media, watching TV, drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and playing video games.
Or what is it that you like to do instead? What's that one thing you've been doing in your life that has held you back from your dreams?

But it's too late for that now.

Are you just emotionlessly reading these words, or are you actually feeling the emotions in this present moment?

Stop reading. Feel your body. Are the emotions here? Yes or no?

Now here's the real kicker: From this emotional state of already being in this worst fear, looking at the same things that once were joyful (procrastinating) looks a bit different to you, doesn't it?

Keep building them up from this worst fear and then when you imagine that you live it now, look back at all the things you could have shouldn't have done.

All because you didn't commit a few hours a night after work building your future right now.

You get the picture. What is it that you're working on as you read this...Shopping addiction? Gambling too much? Relationships?

I'm still not craving those potato chips. They've been my downfall for six months. Yuck. Now they're gone.

Here is the final test:

When you write out your worst case scenario if you keep procrastinating on the one thing you know you are here to do, go into an exaggerated amount of detail like I did here. It's not enough to just put the words on paper. Let me repeat that. It's not enough to just put the words on paper.

You have to invoke so much pain in what will happen if you don't take action towards achieving your goals; that you feel this pain in the present moment.

But even that's not enough.

Are you sitting around feeling the emotions in despair? Or are you feeling the emotions that drive you to do something? Are you sitting around with your hand in a scorching hot fire? Or are you pulling your hand away?

1. You have to feel the painful emotions (not in the future), but in the present moment. Look down at your body and do you feel them? Are these emotions attached to the thought of procrastinating or that bad habit of yours?
2. You have to make sure the emotions drive you to actually do something right now, today. Yeah, you can sit around in the hot fire and feel the pain, but it means nothing if you don't jump out.

What's one change you've already made in your life by reading what you read today?

Just the simple thought of not doing what you need to do should make you feel as painfully miserable as the man felt in the moment the doctor diagnosed him with cancer that will kill him in three months.

1. Build your dream.
2. Eat that apple and jump on the treadmill.
3. Say hi to your future partner.

All of a sudden, the pain of doing the procrastinative (there's that word again) things you've been doing is so much worse than going out and just doing what you failed to do in the past.

And I say this in all seriousness: If you're not crying or feeling the nuclear-bomb-of-an-emotion with just the thought of not taking action towards your goal; you're not attaching enough pain to it.

I have a challenge for you: Can you invoke the feelings of pain right now?

Are you actually doing something to change because of the feelings?

After reading this, aren't you a little disappointed in the way you've been procrastinating knowing where it led you in this painful life of yours? It's too late to escape now that it's here. But looking back in time, what can you begin to do differently to avoid this trap?
Before you go to sleep tonight, write out your own exaggerated pain story. Can you make it more painful and dramatic than mine?

I hope you cry.

Because that's what causes you to change and you can thank me later.

I told you that it'll be painful at first, but what this does it collapse the habit of procrastination, and these emotions drive you to do what you need to do.

Please credit the original poster @AndrewNC as a courtesy gesture.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Did you just copied @AndrewNC's post?!
GOLD - I'm sorry, but this is going to be painful for a lot of you...

Please credit the original poster @AndrewNC as a courtesy gesture.

@Tanisha
I edited the post to credit and link to Andrew's thread.

 

[TheDillon__]

Maaaaan I wish I found this forum when I was your age! Congrats on making it here!

Let me save you a bit of trouble. Instead of trying to invent some new products (around your age, I tried inventing a new energy drink similar to Neuro, an app for personal safety, a party supplies company, etc.) learn some marketable skills like a coding language, or in-depth knowledge in a larger topic like Search Engine Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Cryptocurrencies, etc.

These will not only help you find some gainful employment so that you have a steady income, but all of these can also be turned into profitable product or service businesses.

Here's what I'd recommend.

1. Read TMF if you haven't already. Wonderful read to contextualise what entrepreneurship is all about.

2. Get a job. I hate this part too, but we have to deal with it until we're rich. Put money aside to invest in yourself and your business. Be wary of lifestyle purchases.

3. Download Duolingo and start studying a foreign language. Doesn't matter which one, don't worry about marketability, just find one you like and dedicate 10 minutes a day to it.

4. Grab the Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords and start digging through it. I'm not sure what the market for Australia is like, but I assume there's enough space for you to become a heavy hitter.

5. Read Built to Sell by John Warrillow, helps you to build a business that you can sell for money instead of building a job. I do AdWords myself, and this completely changed how I structure my business.

6. Make time for yourself. It's easy to get lost in passion at this age and forego having friends and a social life. Don't be self-conscious about making time to hang out with friends, get your homework done, and get a girlfriend (Models by Mark Manson is a wonderful book for that.)

World's your oyster pal. Have some fun with it.

 

[GMSI7D]

15 years old !!!!



wtf !!








it looks like i am missing something here


maybe i am stupid


maybe i should walk away and become an hermit

 

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[Nexus]

Maaaaan I wish I found this forum when I was your age! Congrats on making it here!

Let me save you a bit of trouble. Instead of trying to invent some new products (around your age, I tried inventing a new energy drink similar to Neuro, an app for personal safety, a party supplies company, etc.) learn some marketable skills like a coding language, or in-depth knowledge in a larger topic like Search Engine Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Cryptocurrencies, etc.

These will not only help you find some gainful employment so that you have a steady income, but all of these can also be turned into profitable product or service businesses.

Here's what I'd recommend.

1. Read TMF if you haven't already. Wonderful read to contextualise what entrepreneurship is all about.

2. Get a job. I hate this part too, but we have to deal with it until we're rich. Put money aside to invest in yourself and your business. Be wary of lifestyle purchases.

3. Download Duolingo and start studying a foreign language. Doesn't matter which one, don't worry about marketability, just find one you like and dedicate 10 minutes a day to it.

4. Grab the Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords and start digging through it. I'm not sure what the market for Australia is like, but I assume there's enough space for you to become a heavy hitter.

5. Read Built to Sell by John Warrillow, helps you to build a business that you can sell for money instead of building a job. I do AdWords myself, and this completely changed how I structure my business.

6. Make time for yourself. It's easy to get lost in passion at this age and forego having friends and a social life. Don't be self-conscious about making time to hang out with friends, get your homework done, and get a girlfriend (Models by Mark Manson is a wonderful book for that.)

World's your oyster pal. Have some fun with it.

Hey Dillon, thanks for the response!

I have in fact read TMF, I even have have the badge

You make an excellent point about starting by picking up a useful skill, rather than inventing something from scratch. I'm currently reading Grant Cardone's Sell or be Sold as a starting point for learning sales, and I'll start copywriting in the near future. At the moment I'm searching for a part-time job, thanks to the recommendations of the kind people who posted here. I haven't touched Duolingo for about half a year now, it'll be added it to my daily routine. I'll also be sure to check out those three books you recommended.

Hope to see you around!

 

[TheDillon__]

Hey Dillon, thanks for the response!

I have in fact read TMF, I even have have the badge

You make an excellent point about starting by picking up a useful skill, rather than inventing something from scratch. I'm currently reading Grant Cardone's Sell or be Sold as a starting point for learning sales, and I'll start copywriting in the near future. At the moment I'm searching for a part-time job, thanks to the recommendations of the kind people who posted here. I haven't touched Duolingo for about half a year now, it'll be added it to my daily routine. I'll also be sure to check out those three books you recommended.

Hope to see you around!

Man, 15 and you've discovered Cardone and MJ. You're getting some good tools pretty early! Haven't gotten the chance to read Sell or Be Sold yet, but I've definitely read through Be Obsessed or Be Average. Great stuff.

Here's to the future man!