What I Want From You For The Holidays

Hey everyone, sorry to call you out like this but I feel like it is pretty important that you know what kind of gift I want from you for the holidays.

In the event that you get some crap toy, a really terrible sweater, or a fruit cake, people will tell you that you should have spoken up earlier. I certainly do not want any of those things and neither should you.

My List Is Only One Item Long, Check It Out

1. Stop talking about it and be about it

That’s it! Stop talking about doing things you would love to do and just start doing them. Excuses about why you can not pursue your dreams are bogus and are not going to get you anywhere. Here are some examples.

“Oh I would LOVE to get back into doing my art more but I just do not have the time.”

LIAR! Stop watching TV every night and I bet you can find several hours to spend on your music, painting, crafting, writing, or whatever it is you do.

“I’ve always wanted to try starting my own business and I have some really great ideas, but I already have a job that takes up 50 hours a week. I just do not have the time”

Sorry bro, you and just about every entrepreneur ever have had that. They made it work and you can too. Look at what you are doing during the rest of those hours when you are not working and see if you can squeeze something out that is less important to you. (hint: tv, new video games like fruit shop megaways, going out every night with your friends)

You do not need another 40 hours a week to put into a start up business. Spend just a few hours a week and get the ball rolling. Over time, if you are on to something good, you will begin to see growth and end up putting in more and more hours that you thought you didn’t have. Eventually, you could replace that 50 hours a week job working for some person you probably don’t even like anyway.

“I am sick of my job but this is what my degree is in. I would change careers if I could”

You can and you should. The thing is, you do not necessarily need to go back to school. Surely you have some skill sets that you use to do something that you love. When people are passionate about something, they typically obsess over it and start to learn how it works . Most people have some kind of ‘dream’ career, and many times they are doing that thing as a hobby.

I am not here to tell you to make your hobby into your career because sometimes that does not work out. You may get so burnt out on all the other aspects that go into making a career out of your hobby, that you lose interest in that too.

What I am trying to say is that you already have skill sets in other areas of your life that you enjoy doing more than whatever your current career is that you are sick of.

Sometimes you might even have to take a pay cut, but I can tell you from experience that money does not equal happiness.

Peace Of Mind Has No Monetary Value

After the company I was working for sold, I had the option to take more money and move up north to become a bigger cog in the wheel. The money would have been great but I knew for SURE that I never wanted to go down that road. Instead, I took my severance and decided to do something I always wanted to do and start my own business.  It’s been a long two years and I am not doing exactly what I thought I would be doing. I am not making as much money as I was making or could have been making, but my peace of mind is there.

I work hard every day to do the things that I am passionate about. The two biggest things on my plate right now are my web development company and Hijacking Music. Through this Hijacking Music thing I have been able to accomplish things I had always wanted to do and would never have done if I did not stop talking about it and start being about it.

If I did not shut my mouth and use my action, there would have been no Hijacking Music Festival. For 3 years I actively wanted to put on a festival in Atlanta that included only musicians that I wanted to see. This was not about bringing in tons of people(though we had over 200 show up), it was not about bringing in some big name bands from some main stream to sell a bunch of tickets, it was a music festival in Atlanta done exactly how I thought that it should be done. I certainly couldn’t have done it without the help that I received from other people, but I shut up and made it happen.

Next years festival is going to be even better, and hopefully it will continue for years to come. All this from a little idea I had in my head and decided to try and execute.

You’re Turn

I could rant on this topic for another 5,000 words easily, give you a bunch of other examples of how I and other people that I know stopped talking about their goals and started being about them, but I think you get the idea.

Remember, for the holidays, I do not want some stuff wrapped in some paper that I will probably lose anyway. Do something for yourself that you have always wanted to do, then tell me how it worked out for you.

Thanks for reading, happy holidays!

Tell me what you are planning on doing next year, I’ll hold you accountable.