Gary Vee told me to do it…
What if someone told you that you have the power to change things?
Would you scoff at them and tell them they don’t understand your situation?
Would you tell them that it’s just the way things are right now and hopefully down the line the scale will tip in your favor?
Or, maybe just maybe, would you agree and flip the switch in your mind that’s been in the “off” position for far too long and finally turn it on and make a change?
Well, it’s the latter that struck a chord with me. No, I didn’t pull this idea out of thin air; I heard it from Gary Vee’s (Gary Vaynerchuk) SXSW keynote podcast when he told a guy from Houston who was interested in the marijuana industry to stop complaining about his current state of affairs and DO SOMETHING about it.
He told him to stop crying about it and make a proactive attempt to change things.
It was this simple, profanity-laced piece of advice that really hit home.
You can complain all you want about the negative(s) in your life, the failed pitch, the meeting gone awry, the fact that things aren’t lining up how you imagined.
Or, you can take all of the energy that you’ve put into complaining and the “why me” mentality and instead, use it to change your situation.
Crying over spilled milk isn’t going to magically erase your problems. It’s going to intensify them and frankly, it’s a colossal waste of time.
It’s easier said than done. I am first in line to admit that I commiserate, fixate and stew over my problems for far longer than any sentient being should. I’m my own worst critic. But, as time goes on, I’m realizing that you sometimes have to let go of it because it’s only holding you back from doing what you originally set out to do.
Now, I’ve recently gotten into Gary Vee’s content, I just bought his book “#AskGaryVee” and I’ve been watching his YouTube videos and listening to his podcasts. All great stuff — He’s no nonsense, straight shooter that just tells it how it is and believes in what he’s saying.
He’ll be the first to tell you that you can watch and read anything that you want to get motivated but it’s all for not if it actually doesn’t get you to physically do something that’ll push you one step closer to your goal.
I took what he said to heart and rather than think about a post I could write about his content I actually put into words my thoughts and ideas (the post you’re reading now).
That said, I thought that the next idea fit perfectly into this whole schpeal which is that we need to, “Learn to love losing.”
It’s human nature to compete and try to be the best and earn the top spot. But, being the washed up athlete that I am, it’s this competitor mentality that’s taught me a lot in life and I thought this quote fit perfectly.
When you lose a game, the next day you’re watching film and analyzing the mistakes. Pinpointing what went wrong, what strategy went awry. When you win, you get a pat on the back and either a day off or a light practice the next day.
Where’s the chance to learn in the latter? Sure winning is awesome. Who doesn’t love the feeling of being at the top and looking back at all of your accomplishments? I know I surely do.
But in this example, the ones that learned the most were the ones who lost. Through their failure, they’ve exposed their flawed game plan, they investigated what worked and what didn’t and are taking that knowledge with them for the future so that the next time they get that chance, they knock it out of park, slam dunk it, score a touchdown (insert whatever sports analogy floats your boat). The point is and I think the point that Gary Vee was trying to make is that you have to learn to love losing because through failure and setbacks you can expose issues and reevaluate your head space to see if your heart is really in it for the long haul.
If you’re still reading, thank you and I hope that my ideas have you that “a-ha” moment you’ve been searching for. If not, check out his content — it most certainly will get you fired up.
