Category Archives: Attitude

The Game of Risk…err, Life

4 June 2010

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To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.

-Author Unknown

Livin’ Like a Drug Dealer

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“They must be drug dealers. How else could they possibly afford to live the way they do?”

On the outside, my life might seem glamorous, the life of a drug dealer, full of money and expensive trips around the world. In the last year I spent a week in the Las Vegas area, went on a month-long road trip on the west coast and returned to California a month later to camp in Yosemite, went cruising around the Caribbean and last week was spent visiting a friend in Germany. In two months I’ll be visiting Iceland and a month later I’ll spend two weeks in Kauai, Hawaii.

Most people only ever dream of traveling to the extent that I’m able and some speculate that such a lifestyle can only be attained through illegal means, such as dealing drugs. What many people ignore are the sacrifices I make in my daily life in order to afford to live the way I do. If you want to live like a drug dealer, I can show you exactly how I am able to do it, no drugs necessary.

Rule 1) You Can Have Anything but You Can’t Have Everything. When we are kids our parents tell us that we can grow up to be anything we want to be. It’s true. With enough hard work, we can become anything we want to be but we can’t become everything we want to be. You can have anything you want in life, for me this is travel, but you can’t have everything. You have to make a choice. Do you want to travel or do you want to drive a sexy sports car?

Rule 2) Stop Paying Attention to Others. We only see what other people want us to see. People do not want us to know that they can’t really afford exotic vacations, expensive designer clothes, luxury automobiles, dinner at exclusive restaurants and drinks after work. Our society believes that being rich means looking rich. We spend our money trying to keep up appearances, all the while completely undermining our financial stability. Being rich and having money has nothing to do with what you drive or the clothes you wear. Ignore other people and focus on your own financial situation and on your own dreams.

Rule 3) Stay Out of Debt. If you’re in debt, get out. When you’re always paying for the past, you’re unable to focus on today or the future. Since beginning this website I’ve eliminated my credit card debt and paid off my car loan.  Now I’m able to apply that money towards doing other things in my life, such as travel. Debt holds you hostage. You become a slave to your lenders and you spend your days working for the banks and credit card companies. The money you earn doesn’t belong to you and until you eliminate your debt, you’re not in control of your life.

Rule 4) Stop Buying Shit You Don’t Need. Really. If you want to live like a drug dealer, you can’t spend all of your money on stupid shit that brings no value to your life. My money is spent on plane tickets and hotel rooms, the things that I value and that bring enjoyment to my life. I don’t spend money on media, cigarettes, alcohol, clothing, etc. I live minimally and only try to spend my money on the things that I need. Stop buying shit you don’t need and you’ll have money to spend on the things that you want to do in your life.

Rule 5) Make Life a Priority. Stop thinking about all of the things you want to do in life and make them happen. It took me a long time to stop making excuses. There is always a reason not to do something and so long as you continue to use these excuses as justification for not pursuing your desires, your life will never change or improve. If you want something in life, you can’t expect for it to happen to you, you must make it happen. You have to be aggressive and punch life in the face!

The rules of living like a drug dealer are simple, totally legal and can work for anyone. You don’t need to earn a lot of money to live a great life. You just need to be smart with the money you earn and prioritize the things that are important to you. Once you begin to follow these simple rules and apply them to your life, you can be certain that your life will begin to take shape in exactly the way you have envisioned in your mind.

The Biggest Waste of Time That Can Change Your Life

20 February 2010

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Creating a list of one hundred goals is a monumental task.  Before reaching the one hundred mark, completing the list often becomes a goal of its own.  I didn’t finish my own list in a day or even a week but, in time, the list reached 100 goals and it continues to grow.  Today I  added my 123rd goal, “Learn how to Moon Walk like Michael Jackson”.

Writing a list of goals might seem like a big waste of time and, for some people, it might be.  Some people will write a list of goals and forget about them only moments later.  It is understandable.  We have “real lives” and chasing after a list of goals doesn’t fit into our routine.  There is dinner to be made, bills to be paid and obligations to fulfill.  That goal of taking a vacation with your mother isn’t really a priority.  That goal of becoming a doctor just isn’t practical when you have to work  two jobs just to make ends meet.

It is exactly that attitude, those who believe possibility doesn’t exist, that renders such a list meaningless.  A waste of time.  Not until this perspective is altered can a person maximize the value of such a list.  The reality isn’t that the list is a waste of time, it is your attitude that makes it a waste of time.  Without belief in yourself and in your abilities, a list changes absolutely nothing in your life.  If you don’t believe you can change, you won’t.  You will become a product of circumstance in your own life.  You forfeit control.

Those who dream and believe will find that creating a list of one hundred goals is exactly the catalyst they need to change their lives for the better.  Cynics may not believe that accomplishing a goal like skydiving or bungee jumping can change someone’s life.  I would argue otherwise.  Pursuing goals requires a person to stand up and take a proactive position in their own life.  They create opportunity and pursue their passions.  They conquer fear and overcome personal weakness.  No longer is their life a consequence of their surroundings but instead, a result of their efforts.

Those who dream and believe will do what it takes to make their dreams a reality.  They will do what it takes to change the aspects of their lives that they are not happy with and will begin living aggressively in pursuit of their desires and ambitions.

Creating your own list of one hundred goals might just be the biggest waste of time that can change your life…forever.