I'd like to address a very common question or concern I feel gets a general unsatisfying answer. The question or concern is, "I have an idea of what I want to do, but no money and no help from others to get started. What can I do?" Most self-help/motivational material explains how you must change your way of thinking before change can occur in your life. The person reading might think "my circumstances are so bad there's no way changing my thoughts could change my situation." I'll do my best to explain the answer in a way all can understand.
Not everybody, but most people start looking for a way out of their current life conditions once something bad happens. Some unfortunate circumstance arises requiring money you don't have. There's a moment of chaos that occurs in the mind and one begins to scramble for ideas and ways to make money.
It's okay. The benefit that comes from this situation is desperation and even determination. However, these powerful forces will do us no good without a target or a definite destination. (We'll get back to this in a moment.)
Or, you may be the person who's waiting for the perfect time to show up. Then, you'll make the move towards your dreams and everything will work out. Let me take this time to pop your bubble. I do it gladly. Let's go back 5 years into the past and evaluate the differences from then till now. Are you, after 5 years, able to quit your job and follow your dreams? Probably not. The most that's happened is, you probably make more money now. Thus, living a little more comfortable. For others the pay range is more or less the same. Based on the path you've been walking, there is no chance you'll ever see a perfect time to make a change. Great! Now we can feel confident in choosing right now to be that moment.
Something for nothing is a concept that needs to be branded with a hot iron into our way of thinking. That is, never expect to receive something for doing nothing. Never expect anyone to give you a chance or a hand out. If you want to be successful, decide what you're willing to give in return for your success. Don't look for ways to blame others, your environment, or your current circumstances for your position in life. You may have done so in the past and I'm positive you haven't seen results. Here's what we do.
First, sit down with a piece of paper and something to write with. Then, begin to allow your mind the freedom to think of what you want to become most in life. This is your destination. While determining your destination, don't allow your logical thinking to stop you from choosing what you want. Write it down.
Second, you must create a definite plan on how to get there. Definite meaning a plan that could actually work when applied. If you find you have no idea on what it would take to get to your destination, GREAT! There's plenty of people who've already done it. Time to start reading and researching. Once you've done this, you can come back and write it down.
Third, begin to take action in the direction of your destination. Which means, make sure the activities of your day are getting you closer to your goal. If they're not, stop immediately, because you're headed back in the direction you came from. You must remind yourself every single day of your life, heck, every single minute of your day what your destination is. Let no one cause you to deviate from your course. Here's one good reason why, they're probably not paying your bills and if they are it won't be for long.
If you're not in a position to spend all day perfecting your craft, then you need to create a schedule. Everyone has to work to make money. However, what you do with your down time is crucial to your success. It's the very thing that will make or break you. While you're not working to make someone else rich, you need to be working on making yourself rich. Why do you need to spend all your time perfecting your craft? Chances are you're not that good at it. After all, you just chose your destination. Becoming the best at what you do should always be your goal. People don't take up the profession of boxing to be the one who half wins and half loses.
"I don't have enough time" is not a valid excuse. If you sleep for 8 hours a night you'll have 16 hours of the day. Minus another 9 hours for work you still have 7 hours of the day before you go to sleep. Even if your commute to and from work, along with the 9 hours of being at work, took up 12 hours of your day you still have 4 hours left. Now we can start playing with the amount of hours you sleep to gain more time. If you sleep less you'll have more time during your day. In those 4 hours you should be working at your craft. Now it's the weekend! Awesome! We'll have two 16 hour days to work for ourselves! Will it be tiresome? You bet! Just remember, the reason you want out is, because you're giving 10 - 12 hours of your day to make someone else's dream real. Now, just think about that for a moment. In one year (if it takes 12 hours) you've given somewhere close to 3,120 hours of your life (not including overtime). Take that number times the last 5 years. In return, you've been given only enough to get by.
What do you really want?
Yes the transition is going to be hard. I did this very thing. While at work, I took the initiative to read about my craft every 15 minute break and every 1 hour lunch. That gave me an hour and half time of reading I otherwise would have never had.
On the way to and from work, I listened to audio books. Not just once, I put the CD on repeat and listened to the same audio book until I could recite it like a movie. Once that happened it was time for a new audio book. This gave me another hour of learning I otherwise would've never had.
When I got home, I immediately took 15 minutes to meditate and clear my mind of all the frustrations I picked up at work. I programmed myself to remember my destination. Then, I got up and began practicing my craft for the next 6 hours. Sometimes. if I kept at it till 2am I could get 8 hours of perfecting my craft. I knew, no one could hand me experience. In a couple years, I began doing my craft full time. Now imagine this, having the entire 16 hours of your day to perfect your craft. Just think about how many years of learning you can cram into one year! Why would I do that? You might ask, "I'm already out of the system." Earlier, I said we must become the best at what we do. There is always room for growth. If you push yourself to your limit, you'll discover it's no longer your limit.
In conclusion, the Universe knows if you're serious or not. It will challenge your right to success. Jesus once said, "Every man's work will be tried by fire." Make sure you build your foundation on solid ground. Time passes no matter what you do. Look back at the last 10 years of your life. It went by without asking your permission. The next 10 years has already started... What will your destination be?
