PART 1 – Work your Butt Off The most important rule of all. When my friends were out partying and having fun, I was studying at night and waking early to go to a full time job. When they were sleeping 8, 9, 10 hours I was up at 4am writing in my journal, reading and planning my day. When they were slouched on the couch with the TV remote in their hand, I was lacing up my runners to go for a jog. When they were out eating at McDonalds I was preparing dinner and lunch for the next day.
So when you are out there wasting time, remember there is someone out there working hard. Hard work is the only way to succeed in life. I see many people talk about success but very few actually WORKING HARD at it with focus and obsession. So please don’t talk to me about success if you are not prepared to do the hard work. Please don’t send me fancy motivational quotes if you are not prepared to live by those quotes.
Be an Inspiration to Others
A lot of people misunderstand what it means to have a purpose in life. Your purpose in life is not to become this or that. Your purpose in life is to become an inspiration to someone else. That is your purpose. A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that finding your purpose is to become something. A lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, a landscaper.
Yes, that is what you do but that is not who you are. We are not born to become doctors. We are not born to become teachers. We are not born to become landscapers. That is what we choose to do. But that is NOT what we are born to be. We are born to inspire others; whether it is our friends, our family, our kids or our work colleagues.
That is why I show up to work. I show up to be an inspiration to the people I work with and they show up to be an inspiration to me. That is what excites me. That is what motivates me and brought me the most happiness in my life. Because that is my purpose in life. And it should be your purpose in life too. Look at the person next to you and ask yourself, am I an inspiration to them? If the answer is ‘no’, then go back to rule 1 above. Because actions speak loudest.
Have a Dream
Discover a dream that you believe in. Something that motivates you.
There are two types of motivation. Push and Pull. Push is when you have to push yourself to do something. This requires willpower and willpower never lasts. You might wake up sick or tired or something goes wrong in your life that destroys your willpower and this stops you from staying on track. Stops you from eating well, exercising, working hard, and learning. And that’s when you fall back into old habits.
But when you have a dream or a compelling vision, it pulls you, no matter how many obstacles life throws at you. The motivation lasts. Something that excites you so much that you have a hard time falling sleep at night and it pulls you out of bed in the morning!
Next Week I will cover my other 5 rules: Trust yourself – Be Humble – Never Quit – Break the Rules – Don’t Be Afraid to Fail.