Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Just another day...

So I've been talking with people who are stressed out about their jobs. I ask them about what stresses them out, and it's usually boils down to the following reasons:

-I never have time for myself
-I don't like what I do
-I'm bored
-I don't make enough money
-I don't like the people I work with

I had a great conversation one time with a successful entrepreneur. He sat me down and shot me a piercing gaze with his dark eyes. He said, "Do you know what a job stands for?"

I was a bit nervous, but replied, "Uhh, not really." He grinned a bit and said, "Having a job stands for being Just Over Broke."

I thought about that for a while, and I completely agreed. How much different is having a job compared to being broke? In both cases, you don't have the money to do what you truly want to do in life. The only difference is, with a job, you can feed and shelter yourself and get wasted on the weekends with your friends, which puts you at just over broke.

But the key question is...why do most people put up with that? Is it because of fear? Complacency? My gut tells me that most people know the answer but they bury it and set it aside.

So I ask people, "So...you hate your job...have you been thinking of any ideas or whatever?"

Most people at that point say "Yeah, I had some ideas floating around." So then I ask them about their ideas. Most people have great ideas, but they just can't execute on them.

"That's a great idea" I say with a smile, "You gonna do it?"

The usual replies come down to a set of disturbingly common reasons why they wouldn't:

-I don't have enough time to do it
-I'm too lazy (followed by a nervous laugh)
-I'm gonna wait and see, the economy sucks right now
-I don't think I have the ability to do it
-I can't find people who are good enough for it
-I don't have money
-I need a better idea...something revolutionary (yeah...good luck with that, just keep it simple!!)

The worst part is when you're discussing these things in a group, and you have other people who sympathize with those excuses...and give advice on top of it!!! What does the frog in the well know of the ocean?

If something's important, a person has got to take a risk and make the time for it. After all, who wants to retire and still be just over broke?

2 comments:

  1. Just Over Broke..I like that. This post is so true, my mom would always talk about starting a food shop and I think its a great idea but she has sooooooooooooo many excuses for not doing it NOW! It always "in a few years" or "when I save enough money" and she's been saying it for 10+ years. Lol

    Kari

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  2. Haha, great story there. I think Newton's Law of Inertia applies to people too.

    An object that's in motion will stay in motion and an object that is not in motion will stay in that state unless an external force pushes it.

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