Have you ever set out to do something great or better yet aspired to be great? Well, I’m sure if you have, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the whole process of reaching that end goal. I know because I often find myself pursuing a specific aspiration (i.e. working up the corporate ladder), thinking it’s the right thing to do. I would receive my next paycheck and along with that the immediate gratification that I was getting recognized for my work— not necessarily for the right reasons now that I look back on it.

Then you have the other side of the story. There would be times where no matter how hard I worked, how many phone calls I made, it still just wasn’t good enough. “The man” is breathing down your neck just to reach quota and this ultimately led me to become discouraged. The discouragement carried over to my personal life impacting not only me, but my loved ones. Bottom line: I was unhappy and had become this corporate cyborg going through the motions. NO ASPIRATION.

I became too caught up in the journey of trying to be that CEO thinking it was the right thing to do. I knew I was helping others but was this really helping me? I had lost track of my career and purpose thus leading to unhappiness. I knew I needed to get out of such a catatonic environment, so I took the risk (see my previous post) and quit the corporate world.

After the 11-12 month corporate journey and doing some soul-searching, here are some of the things I’ve come to realize with aspirations. Create a strong foundation for what you are trying to accomplish. You always need something concrete to come back to and ground yourself. The path to success isn’t a readable pamphlet; if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right? When you get lost or slightly discouraged, always come back to that foundation. Next, aspire to be happy in whatever career path or lifestyle you decide. I can’t emphasize how much choosing my own path right now has lifted the immense metaphorical anger demon hanging on my shoulders. Happiness comes in various forms for everyone out there, but make sure whatever it is you’re doing whether it be climbing that corporate ladder, starting your own business, committing to marriage or moving in with a loved one—make sure every action brings you happiness.

There will always be the nay-sayers out there, people trying to drag you down, and it’s damn near impossible to make everyone happy. The best advice I can give: do what you believe, put your head down, and charge through the jungle we call life. The process will be a long one, and for me I want to make sure I can make as many other people happy along the way. The thing to remember is that during this journey or process, never forget your foundation, make sure it will be something you can positively reflect on, and bring a gratifying smile to your face.

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Thanks for reading and I’d love to hear any feedback you may have! Feel free to shoot me a message with your thoughts and ideas over at www.andrewkitzmiller.com! Thanks!