The Results of Then and Now

Drew Pinon
Aug 8, 2017 · 4 min read

by Drew Pinon


Part 1: 📺 Vs. 📖

My life used to be all about Netflix. In fact, when I introduced myself to a new group setting, one of this first things I would say about my hobbies or interests was “I love Netflix and watching movies.” 🙋🏻‍♂️And frankly I did. My week day usually consisted of work (730am-430pm), a nap and then Netflix/movies for the rest of the evening. On the weekends it consisted of sleeping in and watching more Netflix, movies or just regular tv. Now some of you are saying “What is wrong with that, sounds awesome to me!” 🤷🏻‍♂️ It was pretty awesome actually for the moment, until I realized I wasn’t content with MY LIFE.

Sure movies and tv shows kept me entertained, while I watched them🙇🏻. What about all the other times? When I added up how I consistently felt through-out the week🤔, I noticed that I was generally UNhappy. I wasn’t satisfied and felt like I wasn’t getting much out of life. I just figured I could watch more shows to be more entertained. The result 👉 the entertainment only lasted as long as the show. I wasn’t generally motivated either. I even listened to motivational speeches on youtube in the morning to get me going. That should’ve done the trick right? Yet after work I was back to the same old rut and then feeling unaccomplished when I went to bed😕😴. When I would wake up — sleeping in until the last possible minute after hitting the snooze several times mind you — I would drag myself out of bed and put on a speech. It got me going for the moment but that usually faded when I arrived at work. I started to realize the speeches were having the same result as the television: entertainment for the moment.

Now most of the speeches I listened to were on the topic of personal development because I did want some personal development in my life. But I thought just listening to them in the morning would do the trick. It didn’t, as I came to find out, there is no trick. A lot of the speakers would recommend books. I always heard things like “the whole wisdom of the world found in one place, the library.” “If you want to play on the team, go to the gym. If you want to own the team, go to the library.” And of course “As far as income goes, the average person reads one book a year and the top CEO or millionaire reads 3–5 books a month.” Wow 1 book a year versus 3–5 a month! That’s a huge difference!

So up until this point, my take on books was this: They’re for the birds. I had no interest prior and felt like they were a waste of time honestly. But I soon realized that’s exactly what I was doing watching Netflix and tv shows, wasting MY TIME. Drew how dare you say that!!😤

So I asked myself “what am I getting out of watching tv?” How did that benefit me and what was I able to do with it? I very quickly figured out that at best, I could have a conversation about the show with someone. Seriously? Countless hours and hours of time put in watching tv🕓🕦, yes it was entertaining, but all it provided me was the content to have a conversation about it! Really, that’s it!! I could’ve had a degree🎓, learned a skill🔨, traveled🗺, worked at a second job💵 or even started a company 🤝 with all that time! As soon as I realized that time is more valuable than money, I made a change. I decided to actually take the advice of some of these speakers and read. I went to the library for a few weeks untiI I made a decision to start my own library. I purchased book after book and started to notice a change in my life. I was happier and was starting to feel more satisfied because I was learning. My confidence started to rise providing new ideas and creativity started to develop as well. And more importantly I was learning about topics and skills that I wanted to. Not what my boss wanted, or my friends or some university to fit their curriculum…but what I wanted for me. I found out that there are books on just about everything! If I wanted to become a better speaker, more personable, more charismatic, financially independent, influential, the list goes on and on! 🤓🤓

I started going to bed feeling more satisfied😊😴, and whats crazy is im excited to wake up early. Why is that? Well it dawned on me that I was developing, growing, learning…I was feeling accomplished and creating a successful life for myself. How awesome! And what really gets me excited about this is that I was at the same job, getting paid the same, in the same city, same relationship status (single), same amount of time in my day yet I was so much more fulfilled and content with life. I was genuinely happy. I mean I still am, getting happier every day. Honestly one of the BEST decisions of MY LIFE was turning off the 📺 🚫.

I hope you enjoyed! Cheers! 🤵🏻🍸

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