How to Get “Lucky” in Life
In my last article I talked about how people let their dreams die young by getting too comfortable and eventually start rotting away.
They don’t like their jobs or where their life is heading — because they know it’s going exactly where I said it was.
However, it’s easier to tell someone to stop being a little bitch versus telling them how.
Which is exactly what I’m going to do here so you can eventually get to where I am.
Which is working 80–100 hours a week in a high stress job which can be likened to walking through a minefield where any step you can take can blow everything up.
Having said that though, this life is infinitely more rewarding than anything else out there and there is nothing else I rather do.
There’s a big difference between working a “regular” job and working on something you’ve created from the ground up AND having the ability decide who you work with at all times.
Once you get to the latter, there is literally nothing else you want to do.
The point is though, a lot of people complain about their shitty jobs but when you ask them what they really want to do — they usually answer with the same basic answer as everyone else.
“I want to do fun & exciting things and like my job and make money”
However, when you ask them what they’re doing to get there you will get a blank face as though you asked them what the etymological root of abnegation is…or some shit like that.
Either way though, they have no idea how to get out of a rut, or a plan or anything. They make excuses like
“I don’t know what I want to do or I don’t know what I’m passionate about”
Or
“I just need the right motivation or inspirational quote to get me going”
Or
“I’m just waiting for x to finish up so I can focus on y”
On one hand, it’s a good thing that idiots like the above exist because that means there’s less competition in this world for doers.
On a side note — that’s not a bad thing. If you gave everyone in the world $1 each, the majority of the wealth would eventually get in the hands of the 1% because 99% are just not capable and dumb.
But you know at UTOE, we don’t make excuses and that’s why I’m writing this on a Saturday night because it’s the only time I have off. Saying I don’t have time is an excuse I don’t ever make.
My philosophy is that success is when opportunity meets preparation. In respect to the opportunity part — that’s mostly out of your control and relies on luck but preparation is something that you can work on every single day.
You can’t be so focused on what you want or what opportunities are out there until you have the ability to capitalize on it if it didn’t come your way.
To make this happen though, you have to learn to be immune to boredom and routine. There is no way around it — you have to love the grind and the live for the process itself rather than the end goal or the shiny objects along the way.
This is why habits and routines are so important. When you get to the point where you’ve changed your habits by creating routines that get you closer to your goals then life is a joke.
I honestly think this is a the cheat code to life.
You don’t have to worry about motivation or pushing through or burning out or any of that because it’s all just part of who you are as a person.
It’s how I can live such a “lame” life of just working all the time and be perfectly happy doing it. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything else because I’ve gotten to the point that this is all I enjoy.
Morning Routine
The cornerstone of this “transformation” you will make will be between 5 am to 7 am in the morning.
This is the part of the day that’s entirely under your control and you have no distractions or excuses. Also, your will power is the highest in the morning which helps.
I found that everything good that I’ve achieved in my life is because of my routine in the morning. You can literally do 2–3 times the work of a normal person by 7 am in the morning, when most people are just getting out of bed.
Now add on to the fact that you have the rest of the day to get stuff done — you’re laughing.
The reason why I like waking up at 5 is because it’s eerily quiet.
This is when there are no distractions in any way — no one is going to call you or talk to you at 5 am so you’re forced to be alone with your own thoughts.
This is the time I use to ponder and reflect about what I’ve done and what I’m going to do next as well as all the different moves I can make.
My morning routine consists of the following:
- Wake up between 5–5:30 am (it’s not that early, you just have to go to bed at 10:45 am and you still get 6 hours of sleep)
- Read for 15–20 minutes
- Meditate for 10 minutes
- Practice a new language for 10 minutes (I use Duolingo)
- Write down a list of ideas for 5 minutes (can be anything — this is just to work on your idea generating skills)
- Shower and eat breakfast
- Do my most difficult task for the day for 1 hour
It’s that simple. The hard part is actually doing it day after day for the rest of your life.
The key is that you have to do it every single day and just have faith in the process that it’ll work out. Slowly.
The whole point behind is this prepare yourself for when the opportunity comes your way.
You need to be able to recognize it and seize it.
Obviously there’s more than just doing this but this is a great start that’ll get your mind thinking straight and make you feel a lot more productive.
Some of the things I’ve done to prepare are borderline crazy but that’s not going to be written ever.
For most people though, this will do.
The hardest part is just getting started.
And that’s because most of the time — you just don’t know what to do and internet guru’s telling you to “work hard” and “chase your dreams” isn’t going to cut it.
You’ve spent your entire life in a school system that’s taught you to be a cog and a follower — how are you going to rewire decades of training with a simple “chase your dreams”?
That’s why I started Arctic Venture — so you can learn the steps to go from “I know what I’m doing is wrong” to “I’m pretty sure I’m on the right path”.
It’s my answer to the world full of superfluous guru’s who tell you things that feel good but don’t actually tell you how to do it.
Originally published at uzairstheoryofeverything.com on May 30, 2016.
