Not Everyone Will Get it

You’re going to have to face adversity and skepticism 

Speaking to the shakers and movers of the world, the one’s who may see more to life and know that they don’t fit the white picket fence social norm, just because people don’t understand your alternative way of life, doesn’t mean that it’s wrong.

If you’re in your mid twenties or younger, you are growing up in a much different world than your parents had. Economically, socially, how information flows; all are much different than even as little as 15 years ago.

Although this still may work for some, and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pursue a college degree if you have the means, but for many of us out there there are much more effective ways to grow create the life we want to live than there was for most generations before us.

Say you’re a freshmen in college right now. Maybe you’re living at home and going to community college and working your way through at a 10$ an hour job. In terms of social norms, you’re doing pretty well. This is exactly how it has been working for the last hundred years.

But you have a very strange feeling about you that is telling you something just isn’t right. You wake up and you dread class, and then you get out of class and you go to work a job, even it’s just to bring in some extra bucks, that you really don’t like, and you find that you aren’t as happy as you know you could be.

But you know that if you keep your head down, power through, and sacrifice four years and get that piece of paper, that everything will be alright.

For some, that may be true, but for most now a days the situation is much different and that four years for a piece of paper might not pay off like it would have a few years ago.

So you’re here, you know that what you’re doing isn’t exactly what you want to be doing but you’re okay with it because everyone around is telling you that you’re doing the right thing, that it will pay off, and that if you can just stick it out everything will be okay. But you still have this feeling inside of you that knows “yeah everything will be okay, but why can’t everything just be great now?”

And because you are true to your feelings and emotions, and because there is just something missing, you decide that you’re done scraping by, barley existing and it’s time for you to start living.

Well first and foremost, congratulations and I applaud you on your tenacity. You are about to embark on an adventure and you are taking on the role of creator in your own story.

As great and as awesome and wild and wonderful this adventure is going to be, there will be some really testing and trying times. And that’s not to say there wouldn’t be testing and trying times if you had decided to continue on the straight and narrow and just keep doing what everyone is telling you to do.

But at least when you face tough times doing what you’re “supposed” to be doing, you can feel some sort of comfort in the fact that you are surely not the only one experiencing this and that people have been here before.

When you take over every aspect of your life, there are going to be times when things may seem so lost, confusing, like nothing you’re doing is working, and on top of all of that, it’s not like you’re following in the footsteps of those before you, so you really don’t know what the end result is going to look like and you may not even have a piece of paper to show for it.

First, your family will probably tell you you’re crazy, this is the worst decision of your life, and that the world is ending and you’re going to end up sleeping underneath a bridge with no food or money. Then your friends will become really uncomfortable. Not all of them, usually, but someone of them will point and laugh and call you stupid and that you’re nuts and that if you don’t go to college like them, even though mom and dad pay for their party, you’re screwed and all hope is now lost for you. Then finally, people you have never met before, and will more than likely never see again, will tell you all the reasons you’re wrong and that no matter what if you don’t do what they do then you’re never going to make anything of yourself.

Now, this is not always the case as some people come from more progressive, open minded environments and the support will be there from the beginning, but if you’re not one of the lucky ones who has a fan club ready to support you for anything and everything, then this can and will, pull you down, push you over, drag you through the mud, and most likely be the one and only reason you stop doing what you’re doing and settle for the mundane life you were told is all that you can achieve anyway.

But don’t let that discourage you. What you need to realize is that you were born here. You didn’t choose to wake up into the life you were given, it was given to you. Now, most people will accept this as the life they are required to live, and will never feel like they have the power to change it.

Adversity and pessimism are strong enough deterrents to keep most people at bay, and to force people into a life that they take no part in creating. If you let the possibility of failure keep you from doing the things you want to do, well that’s just clearly a a fast track to all the things we know we don’t want.

The biggest and most challenging question you are going to have to continually ask yourself, is “is this worth it”. You may want to go to that concert with all of your friends but know that if you get 3 articles done and published instead you will be closer to the ultimate goal you are trying to achieve. The days of the week will come obsolete to you, so will time, and you will start to just do things when it feels right and when you want to. But it will all start coming back to the single question of, is this activity worth it. What makes it worth it and how will I really know if it is worth it or not?

I’m telling you it’s a funny game but I promise you that if you stick to your guns and each and every time you make a choice and you decide one thing is worth more than the other and you just role with it, you will be okay.

It is going to be an exciting and interesting ride. And who knows the wonderful people and experiences you will encounter. But if there is something you need to know up front, it’s that there will be people out there who don’t get it, don’t want to hear about it, and will try and tell you you’re crazy, stupid, childish, and that these things don’t work.

Smile, nod your head and thank them for their advice, and remind them that life is all about who you are listening to. And you should be listening to people that have what you want and have been where you have been. If these people don’t live the kinds of life you want to live, and they don’t have the things that you want, then there is no reason to stop doing what you’re doing if it feels good to you.

The bottom line is that you create the life you want to live and if you are creating a life that doesn’t feel good, then why even bother? I know it’s nice to have support and to have people in your corner, and even though it may not be easy at first I guarantee if you stick with it and keep working until you are where you want to be, that you will surprise quite a few people and they will start to flock.