It's Friday, 6:26 am, and I'm at work. I'm not supposed to be. Another employee couldn't make it in to open the store. I volunteered. I thanked her for the opportunity, because it gives me more time to work on my ideas when no one is around.
I drive a 2003 Acura TL. It's got 220,000 miles on it. It's a Yakuza ghetto vehicle. I should be driving something nicer. My credit score is over 800, I have no consumer debt, I could roll into a dealership and drive out with a big fat payment and a shiny new car that will make my neighbors jealous. Instead they look at me disapprovingly, the way they would look at a hillbilly intruding into their nicely manicured suburban neighborhood. It's the worst car in my neighborhood, and occasionally I'm embarrassed.
But, I'm thankful for it. It's 9 degrees out right now. And this car has heat. AND heated seats! I'm thankful this thing gets me to work and back. Not only that, but when I get embarrassed about my ride, I think about the thousands of dollars that go into my high yield savings account every month instead. It makes me smile. Put your money towards things that appreciate in value. I learned that from MJ
I'm thankful for this slowlane job. I'm working for someone else's dream. My father in law died in November. I took 4 days off to support my wife and her family. I didn't have any vacation days left so they docked my pay. Think about that. They punished me for choosing family over a job.
But I'm thankful for that. It was the catalyst that motivated me to write a 26 page case study on how I took this job with several goals in mind, and how I achieved all of those goals in less than three years. To much success. And I shipped that case study to two recruiters, who are actively setting me up with interviews at places that are bigger, who are doing interesting things, with better benefits, and double the pay. More money in my "high yield" account! I'll be able to fund my startup sooner. I learned this from Ramit Sethi & MJ. Stop pennypinching. Start thinking of ways to increase your value to the marketplace.
I'm thankful for this job. It motivated me to wake up at 4 am every day and spend two hours a day on my side project. It's a reminder that I have bigger goals than working for someone else's dream.
Every day I get to build something that will help other people. That will solve a need. That will ease someone's pain. That will give someone's life a little more meaning, maybe some peace. And I don't think one second about the money. The money will come. I learned that from MJ. There is no way I'd be doing this if I hadn't read MFL. Thank God for Amazon's recommended books feature.
I'm in my forties and I basically have no retirement. I've never made more than 60 grand a year. But I'm thankful because I have a modest but great home in a great neighborhood with great schools.
Money was never a priority to me. I sacrificed my career to a certain extent so I could raise my son, instead of having his development outsourced to some corporate day care center. Now he's 16 and he's literally the best kid. Honor roll every semester. In a band. Produces music and videos. Brown belt in karate. Respectful and mature. Plays in the youth symphony orchestra. He's an inspiration. He's got the best peer group. He told me that I said to him once when he was 10 that he was the average of the 5 people he spent the most time with. I must have been listening to Jom Rohn when I said that. But it made me happy to know I have an impact on his life.
So my decision 10 years ago paid off. Sometimes it isn't all about money. It's about doing your duty and putting your resources into something that makes a difference in the world.
I didn't make much money, but I will never regret the time I spent with him. You only get that time once. You can't rewind the clock.
Today I work on solving a problem. Finding the need and working to ease the pain for someone. I will focus on that, and I will make a lot of money soon, there is no doubt. Because I play with a stacked deck. The odds are always in my favor.
And the odds are always in your favor. This is a big game. And all you have to do is play it with a flexible mindset and a desire to make things better for people. If you live in America, the odds are always in your favor. You may lose a few hands, but you end up winning in the long run. You just have to keep playing. You are the damn casino. You have access to the world's knowledge, and a comfortable environment that is supportive to entrepreneurship. If you make more than 30 grand a year, YOU ARE the 1%.
Most of all, you have access to this forum, this wealth of knowledge that MJ and a lot of others here have built over the years. I am a wiser person just through reading these posts.
What a treasure.
Go out and make yours today. I know I will be.
So today, before I start working on my project and making a ruckus, I want to thank everyone here, for just being here. I'm in your corner.
I drive a 2003 Acura TL. It's got 220,000 miles on it. It's a Yakuza ghetto vehicle. I should be driving something nicer. My credit score is over 800, I have no consumer debt, I could roll into a dealership and drive out with a big fat payment and a shiny new car that will make my neighbors jealous. Instead they look at me disapprovingly, the way they would look at a hillbilly intruding into their nicely manicured suburban neighborhood. It's the worst car in my neighborhood, and occasionally I'm embarrassed.
But, I'm thankful for it. It's 9 degrees out right now. And this car has heat. AND heated seats! I'm thankful this thing gets me to work and back. Not only that, but when I get embarrassed about my ride, I think about the thousands of dollars that go into my high yield savings account every month instead. It makes me smile. Put your money towards things that appreciate in value. I learned that from MJ
I'm thankful for this slowlane job. I'm working for someone else's dream. My father in law died in November. I took 4 days off to support my wife and her family. I didn't have any vacation days left so they docked my pay. Think about that. They punished me for choosing family over a job.
But I'm thankful for that. It was the catalyst that motivated me to write a 26 page case study on how I took this job with several goals in mind, and how I achieved all of those goals in less than three years. To much success. And I shipped that case study to two recruiters, who are actively setting me up with interviews at places that are bigger, who are doing interesting things, with better benefits, and double the pay. More money in my "high yield" account! I'll be able to fund my startup sooner. I learned this from Ramit Sethi & MJ. Stop pennypinching. Start thinking of ways to increase your value to the marketplace.
I'm thankful for this job. It motivated me to wake up at 4 am every day and spend two hours a day on my side project. It's a reminder that I have bigger goals than working for someone else's dream.
Every day I get to build something that will help other people. That will solve a need. That will ease someone's pain. That will give someone's life a little more meaning, maybe some peace. And I don't think one second about the money. The money will come. I learned that from MJ. There is no way I'd be doing this if I hadn't read MFL. Thank God for Amazon's recommended books feature.
I'm in my forties and I basically have no retirement. I've never made more than 60 grand a year. But I'm thankful because I have a modest but great home in a great neighborhood with great schools.
Money was never a priority to me. I sacrificed my career to a certain extent so I could raise my son, instead of having his development outsourced to some corporate day care center. Now he's 16 and he's literally the best kid. Honor roll every semester. In a band. Produces music and videos. Brown belt in karate. Respectful and mature. Plays in the youth symphony orchestra. He's an inspiration. He's got the best peer group. He told me that I said to him once when he was 10 that he was the average of the 5 people he spent the most time with. I must have been listening to Jom Rohn when I said that. But it made me happy to know I have an impact on his life.
So my decision 10 years ago paid off. Sometimes it isn't all about money. It's about doing your duty and putting your resources into something that makes a difference in the world.
I didn't make much money, but I will never regret the time I spent with him. You only get that time once. You can't rewind the clock.
Today I work on solving a problem. Finding the need and working to ease the pain for someone. I will focus on that, and I will make a lot of money soon, there is no doubt. Because I play with a stacked deck. The odds are always in my favor.
And the odds are always in your favor. This is a big game. And all you have to do is play it with a flexible mindset and a desire to make things better for people. If you live in America, the odds are always in your favor. You may lose a few hands, but you end up winning in the long run. You just have to keep playing. You are the damn casino. You have access to the world's knowledge, and a comfortable environment that is supportive to entrepreneurship. If you make more than 30 grand a year, YOU ARE the 1%.
Most of all, you have access to this forum, this wealth of knowledge that MJ and a lot of others here have built over the years. I am a wiser person just through reading these posts.
What a treasure.
Go out and make yours today. I know I will be.
So today, before I start working on my project and making a ruckus, I want to thank everyone here, for just being here. I'm in your corner.
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