What Should I Do When I Grow Up?

We've got a problem. Too many people are settling for jobs they hate. They know they hate them. They come home and complain about them. But the next morning they put on a tie and a fake smile and go out and do it all over again. When did their dreams die? When did this happen? When did they trade limitless imagination for the safety of becoming part of a faceless crowd? When did you start doing this? 

The truth is most people settle for far less than they deserve. 

Grow Calendar 2011

"HOW CAN I AVOID THIS?"

Sometimes to find out what you want to DO in life you need to figure out what you DON'T want to do. When I was a kid I wanted to be a doctor. I went for a day to shadow a doctor at a local hospital. I hated it. I really hated it. It smelled like old people. There were bed pans and lime green jello. It was gross. That doesn't mean that being a doctor isn't for you. It just means that being a doctor is not for me.  Imagine if I spent the next sixteen years of my life in school to get a degree to become a doctor only to realize that I hate my life? Imagine walking into my office, "Hi, I'm your doctor, I'll be operating on you and oh just so ya know...I hate my job" Help!

Take a bite out of this knowledge biscuit: Success is finding something in life that you love so much you would do it for free but you LEARN to do it so well that you get paid for it. How do you find that thing? Question: If you had all the money in the world what would you do with your life. And don't be lame. Traveling the world and eating exotic fruits would get boring eventually. No, I am talking about something meaningful. I'm talking legacy. What would you do? What would you dedicate your life to? What dream would you try if you knew there was no way that you could fail? You're thinking of something. Some image crawled to the front of your brain when you read those questions. There it is. That's the one thing. Pursue that. 

"BUT JOSH I'M NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING!"

First off, shut your face. You are good at something. Don't hide behind a lame excuse just so you don't have to be held responsible for not trying. Secondly, you don't have to be the best, you have to be YOUR best. And if you are doing what you love you'll get better at it with time. The difference between success and failure is how you answer the question: Are you willing to do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do? Would you live the next 2-3 years like most people won't to live the next 20-30 like most people never will? Right now you are living at home. You parents are paying the bills and putting food on the table. Why not take this time when they are covering all the bases to invest in getting good at something you love? 

Pssst.  Mr. Roger lies to you.  Dreams don't come true...goals do.

A heads up, sometimes what will eventually be your greatest gift may initially be an annoyance. When I was in high school I would always get in trouble for being a class clown. Now I make people laugh. I drop truth bombs. I am making my living through talking. What's up now teachers!?!?!

Finally, let's talk about fear. I have a fear. It's easy to read this article and say. "Hey Josh, right on!" but never do anything about it. I'm scared your going to let you fear get the best of you and do nothing. The hard part isn't figuring out what your good at. The hard part is having the guts to go for it. It's like there is this ninja in your brain that is going to pop up and try and steal your goals from you. But we need to have the courage to fight back. We need to fight for it because the pay off is amazing. Imagine if you did did exactly what you want to do with your life? What could be changed, cured, protected, discovered, invented all because of you? See that's the key. When your doing what you are passionate about it doesn't just affect you. It has the ability to change the lives of everyone around you. You don't want to end up like the others. You don't want to be the one looking back asking "What if?" Your life will be lame or it will be legendary. It's your call.

What Should I Do When I Grow Up?

Grow Calendar 2011