Get Off Your ASSets

Taking Action

Subject: Mental Assets, Taking Action, Creating Your Life's Purpose

By Victor Antonio

This past weekend I was in Washington, DC to speak at an annual meeting planners event.  My keynote, The Logic of Success went well.   During my speech I usually tell a story about how we tend to listen to the wrong people for advice and wind up doing things we had no business doing in the first place.  And when we fail, we feel all the worse for it.   Having failed once, we give up altogether on trying to extricate ourselves from our discontent.

Let me give you an example.  Let’s say you have a great idea about something you’d like to do to get your career on track or life on purpose.  Instead of seeking expert advice (i.e., from someone who has first hand experience) you decide to tell a few of your friends and family (i.e., most likely people who have no clue what you’re trying to do).   And you know, there’s always that one somebody willing to give you advice they themselves don’t follow. 

So what happens?  You don’t trust your own judgment so you alter your plans based on their advice.    From this point on, you go into Lemeny Snicket mode and initiate a Series of Unfortunate Events: 

• You ignore your own advice and listen to others

• You go out and do it someone else’s way only to fail

• You don’t know why you failed because it wasn’t your idea in the first place

• You decide to give up on ‘your’ idea and decide to go back to being “ordinary”

• Your self-esteem is shot, your dream is dead and you go back to your job

• You don’t like your current job so you get depressed at the thought of having to go to the same old grind every day

• You’re so depressed that after work you decide to go shopping at the mall to take your mind off your misery

• If you’re a guy like me, you may go buy some large piece of electronic and charge it on your credit card

• You get it home, set it up and you feel good about your purchase…your mind now numb

• You’re no longer thinking about your job; until the next day when you have to go in again

• You get to work and the misery is still ever present

• You tell yourself to just hang in there and remind yourself that you’re there to pay the bills

• End of the month comes and your credit card bill arrives and it ain’t pretty

• You get even more depressed because the lousy job you have doesn’t pay enough to make ends meet, let alone pay off the minimum credit card payment

• Now you get even more depressed and you find little solace in your large electronic purchase

• Bills begin to mount over time

• Depression and concern combine to formulate anxiety

• You can’t think clearly because you’re in a reactive state just trying to survive

• You now go to work in a poor mood and your boss starts to notice a decline in your enthusiasm and performance

• Evaluation time comes around and you get a 2-3% pay raise barely enough to keep up with inflation

• Bills are still mounting, you hate your job and you see no way out

• Now you really feel like a failure

• And the thought of trying something new to get your career on track seems ridiculous since you failed at it already

Does any of this sound familiar?  Do you know someone who may be living this right now?

When people come to hear me speak on The Logic of Success, I often remind them that “Life didn’t just happen” (i.e., these problems appeared out of nowhere), but that “Life has been happening” to them for a long time (i.e., their predicament has been slowly deteriorating over some period of time).

I like to think that when I speak to people, I sound life’s alarm clock and tell them to wake up from their mediocre stupor.  Time is slipping away.  We’re all on the clock.  And no matter if you’re rich or poor, time is one thing you can’t go out and buy more of or put on your credit card.

Got a Lousy Job?

No one ‘just’ lands a lousy job.  If they didn’t go to school to prepare, don’t’ have an expertise in some field or endeavor, or simply didn’t have a plan they’ll have to settle for what they can get.

No one ‘just’ becomes broke overnight.  What often happens is that their buying habits exceed their capacity to pay for them.

Fixing your life or getting it back on track requires introspection.  Remove God and past circumstances from your excuse book.  If you believe in God, don’t wait for Him to help when the bible clearly states that He helps those who help themselves.

Don’t wait for the circumstance to be right, because they never will. 

Don’t let past circumstances determine your current stance on your life and possible options.

Don’t wait for others to do it for you.  I can guarantee you it will never happen.

I’ve always argued that ‘success happens for a reason’.   Most successful people followed a plan or a course of action to reach their maximum potential.  Unfortunately, ‘failure happens for a reason’ also.  Most people fail because they just don’t know what to do or how to implement a plan of action. 

Can a person’s life be fixed?  Of course it can!  But, a person who contracted cancer from smoking can’t expect a quick fix to the self-inflicted damage from years of smoking.

A person in debt can’t fix their credit rating overnight after years of financial mishaps.

A person who isn’t successful can’t expect a quick fix to damage done to their career after years of occupational neglect.

The answer to the question I often hear, “How do I change my life?” can be summed up in three simple words, slowly over time.  There are no quick fixes.   In this high tech cesspool of immediate gratification , the reality is that things that endure take time to build or fix.

- If your job stinks, begin planning out a new career, change companies or go it alone.

- If your marriage stinks, seek professional or spiritual guidance and see if you can salvage it.

- If you savings account stinks, stop spending your disposable income on frivolous items that only offer temporary gratification.

The answer to your problems or dilemmas does not lie in prayer, hope, or some motivational book.  These solutions are placebos to make you feel good for a short period of time.  They don’t last. 

The answer to any adverse circumstance lies in the word ACTION.  Start taking steps to get your life or your dream of who you want to be on track.  Stop listening to other people and start listening to yourself.  Yes, you may fail a few times.  So what!  Get over it!   Get on with it!  Make something happen!  Get off your assets! 

Please share this article with a friend who may need a word of inspiration.

Copyright © 2005 by Victor Antonio   All rights reserved.  This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body.  All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio.