A Fresh Start

People ask me, "Are you happy?"

Vague question, but I know what they mean...Life's different and in a big way. I used to think life was just easy. Now, I realize that it was only easy because I chose to not challenge myself. I've come to realize that without a challenge and fight, there's really no drive to excel above and beyond what you or anyone else may expect from you. Being content is fine. People choose to be content and happy. I used to be that person who would just sit there and watch the time pass, thinking that I had so many minutes to spare. I used to be the person that was happy and content with what I had (and in many ways I still am), but now I strive for more. Much more. I aim to achieve excellence. I aim to compete amongst the world's most skilled workers. Ultimately wanting to define and shape "success" for myself and understand what my real goal in life is to be along the way.

Life has transformed like water being formed in the skies and dropping down on us. It's been a nightmare but heaven, all in one shot of whiskey. Watching each minute and thinking, "If i'm not doing something right this second, I am wasting time." Weird isn't it? People would tell me I lag, people would tell me I'm slow. People would say I'm just not really hustlin...well, I can assure the people that these days, I hustle for anything I can take. Life is that kind of race now. It's not a world of 50 meter dashes or 200 yd sprints. It's really a marathon that stretches past any physical finish line you can see.

I guess that's what keeps me going. When it's not hard to wake up and know what you need to accomplish that day, you are hustlin. When the world moves faster and yet, you see everything slower, that's when you are hustlin. When you shrug your shoulders at a deal gone bad and get right back on the phone to grab the next deal...that's when you are hustlin. When you have dreams of hustlin..that is hustlin. What a thrill I must add. I think I've learned the most in the past 2 months than I have in the past 2 years.

How can a career change your whole mindset?? Well, I try to not let it affect every aspect of my life. I try to not bring work home. I try to not talk about what I've achieved during the day...but it's hard. I know friends don't really want to hear about a new technique I've learned to implement, but whatever, I'll tell them anyways! I know friends would like to see me hang out more, but even the nights are important for me to be productive.

There's a story about a salesman who was the very first salesperson to sell a deal out of his new hire class. He was loving every minute of it. Felt like he was the king, only to realize that he wouldn't sell another deal for 6 more months. He tried to sell, but he just couldn't close. What did he do? He thought about quitting, "fuck this shit, i'm out." He thought about just moving to a different position within the company too. Well, one day he was sitting at home staring at his xbox, looking at the TV, looking at all the empty cans of beer that were lying around the house, magazines that didn't do shit for the mind...noticing the posters of all the females he drooled over that were hung on the walls of his apt, and he thought to himself, "There are just too many distractions here."

So, he threw everything away. He even tossed his couch! He made what he liked to call his, "dojo." It was just him, a chair, a laptop and books. He read everyday, studied everything he could about what it was that he was selling, practiced his tone, practiced his closing voice. He programed factual evidence in his mind to have as ammunition for any question or rebuttal a prospective client might have. He was a machine that dedicated himself to one thing, being able to close the shit out of someone. Eventually after his 6 month mark, he went on to be a top performer and lead the company by opening up new offices throughout the nation. He was competing with the best...

True story that had me at Hello. I think about his success and there was really nothing to it. Work hard, take your shit seriously, and be the best at what you do. In the end...hustlin will pay.