Heres an interesting question that was asked of me by a 21 year old just recently (Im 27 at the moment).
The initial answer I gave her was to take advantage of all the resources college has to offer. If I could go back to the time I was in college I would have definitely rooted myself more in the community, maybe join a fraternity or a serious group...because those connections and friends will be with you for years to come. As you move on in life so does your core network and its much easier to get a job when you have someone in the inside. Lets be honest here, nowadays the person with the friend that's already and employee (considering that person isnt a jackass that pisses everyone off) will most likely get the job over someone much more skilled and talented. I always say "its who you know or who you blow".
But its been a week and for some odd reason I didnt feel fully satisfied with my answer and its been hanging in the back of my mind. So I rephrased the question to hit a little more to home. And I challenge you to ask this question yourself and see what answer you come up with. "If you had the ability to give advice to yourself 6 years ago...what would you say?" Heres the best answer I came up for myself...and I think its general enough to satisfy the original answer posed to me just a week ago
Visualize your dreams often
To me its kind of funny that I came up with that answer because this is usually one of the core concepts in these motivational books...and Ive read a lot of those friggin books. At one point I was pretty much what I call a "seminar junkie". I would go to all these motivational meetings and listen to audio tapes as I drove around. Go to Barnes and Noble to pick up the latest book by John C Maxwell even though its the same book rewritten 21 times. Dont get me wrong...its a great way to start, but there comes a point where too much in one period of time is bad for you. I would limit the Tony Robbins tapes to no more then a hour a day guys.
Ok back to the answer I gave and the reason why I say visualization is key. Now if you have read any motivational book and seen this as one of the core concepts you understand half of the reasoning. I hate the fact that most of these books dont give the mechanics behind why things is visualization is important...and thats what I want to talk about.
The core reason why I visualize daily now is because it helps me get shit done. Heres something that everyone knows but forget when you transition from theory to application. If you want to be successful, wealthy, someone that will change this world or make a impact then you have to get off you ass and work towards it. Sacrifices must be made...and energy must be spent. There are going to be times where your out of your comfort zone. Your family will doubt you. Give you shit for taking the road that doesnt seem to end. And you know what? Until you get there...your always going to have doubt in your mind. It freaking sucks, but deal with it. Heres where visualization is key.
First, you have a general idea of what you want to do with your life. Not career wise, but in the life aspect. I have a poster in my room with all the things I want to accomplish. Think of it as a visual bucket list. For example, My poster consists of things like: pictures of my dream home, the words "worlds greatest hotel", and a picture of Yao Ming with the words "Live Big" for shits and giggles.
Second, you must understand that everything big you want to accomplish you will have to work for. You will have times where your going to be forced to do things that you dont want to do because your uncomfortable. Like take those annoying ass clients our for a drink and talk business. Or even tougher, make that call to that person that is super important and it will morally crush you if they decline to work with you...then do it again and again and again to the rest of your "chicken list". Even little things of habit can work against you. Its been a long ass day at work. You come home and you just want to chill...but you need to go to the gym. You know in the long run it will do you good, but at that exact moment it sucks balls to get your work out in.
Third, for the most part the difference between the person that hits their dreams when they are young versus the ones that are older is they got the important crap that needed to be done sooner. The jacked thing about life is that the action that brings you the most benefit, will also be the action that is mentally toughest to do. Most of the time that mental road block comes in the form of fear. Fear is something you cannot avoid, but the amount of intensity you give to fear for a specific situation depends all on you. Ive found personally that keeping the end goal in mind helps me progress in my business and fight the urge to put those important actions off to the next day, and the day after that.
So there you have it. Visualize often to motivate you to get off your ass and get er done. Until next time my friends and please let me know what you think if this blog.
