Okay, try this - say to yourself, "I am never going to be able to get out of this hole that I am currently in. I will die with the debt and the job I am living with right now. I will never be any better off and I will never have the life that I want to have."
How do you feel? If you get pissed off and feel like telling me to sit on a boarding pike and spin, then I applaud your emotion, shake your hand, and you can get back to raising your black flag. If you say, "What debts?" and "I LOVE my job", then let me get out of your way!
But, if there was even the tiniest feeling of relief . . . a feeling that you agree with the statement and that you deserve what you've gotten . . . don't feel alone! You are among millions who suffer from the two greatest fears in the American psyche. Spiders and scorpions? Snakes and slugs? Heights and the resulting fall? Public speaking and being seen naked?
Nope; the two greatest fears in America are the fear of failing and succeeding.
People are afraid of change. "Why should I do anything different when I have no idea what the results of doing them differently may be?" Instead, we become content in our misery and don't do anything to make our lives better. It's safer, more comfortable. Like those pair of blue jean shorts that are falling apart but we continue to wear them anyway. Your ass is showing but at least they fit.
A side note - I believe that this has to change if we are going to get out of the hole that the Nation is in today. The entrepeneurial spirit has to come alive again. A couple of brothers need to raise some capital and create a mode of transportation that electifies the country. Three or four guys need to put together $60,000 and build a car that runs on compressed air and can be built for under $5,000. People need to start figuring out a way that lines their pockets with cash that doesn't require the fleecing of their fellow man. Okay, let me get off my soap box; well, let me get back on the other one!
So, I challenge you - do something different today. Eat at a different restaurant. Try a different route home. Say "hello" to someone you don't ordinarily talk to - like that attractive girl who lives in your building. I'm not asking you to get up the nerve to ask her out . . . just say "hello" to her and smile. Do something different, something new. Not something dangerous or risky. Just something that you wouldn't otherwise do. Here's one, and the people at a couple of the fast food places on TV will love me for it, for the next week eat lunch every day for $5 or less. You can pay on a bill with the money you save. Or you can buy groceries for next week and bring your lunch to work and eat for under $3!!
Stop being afraid to change. Take baby steps. You do NOT need to quit your job and go open a hair salon. Instead, do your friends' hair on the weekends for them. You don't need a slon - just some scissors, a comb, and some styling gel. You don't need to quit your job and open up a construction company. Get some jobs that you can finish in a weekend (like building a deck for your next door neighbor) and do it. There's nothing to be afraid of . . .
