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I Want It All. Or, You're Not Mark Cuban And This Isn't Shark Tank.

"You've got to take what you've got when when your life is in knots. You've got to take your shot sometimes you've got to rewrite the plot. "
-Kinky Boots 



The following is inspired by true events:

A friend of mine has just told me about his 907th business venture of the year, a landscaping business, which like the prior 906 will never get started. While speaking with him I realized that he was googling how to start a landscape business. One to never make a scene, I asked him what he planned to do to not get this business off the ground. His answer to the shock of no one was I don't know. That got me thinking about the nature of ideas. It also got me thinking about how much shit goes into formulating one. I'm pretty guilty of having big ideas that go nowhere. I'm always trying to figure out a way to drastically change my career or the way my life is going. I get lost in the minutiae of it all and create a huge wall, a blockage of sorts, and then nothing gets done. You can only do so much at once much to the chagrin of almost every real adult I know. From the time I can remember I have wanted to do everything. Writer. Actor. Rockstar. Director. Artist. It should come as no surprise that I am a financial advisor with a psychology undergraduate degree. In working with people who need help with their money I have learned two things:
I hate money. I don't care about the stock market. It's taken a long time for me to realize it. It took me longer to accept it. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I was just a little burned out by my current situation. The ideas I've had had been half assembled but didn't go far. The reason I never followed through is simple: I don't want to work hard and am an idiot.


No I am only kidding.



 The reason is I don't really know how to get started and am afraid to go for it. That's the honest truth. Striving for something takes a lot of effort and a lot of bravery. To set out on a path of fame and fortune isn't an easy endeavor. I tried stand up comedy. Did it for a while. And it was too much for me to keep up with. People will say that I didn't want it enough. I'm not so sure about that. What I will say is that I didn't have the desire to live at home while doing it to save money while I made almost nothing doing spot shows and open mics. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my independence to reach that goal. I also know that at the time my priorities changed and I didn't want the bohemian life anymore. I saw what it was like and it wasn't what I was looking for. Other ideas, like my aforementioned friend and his Mark Cuban list of theoretical businesses, had no chance at gestation. Because he is in love with the idea of success and the things that come after. Most notably he wants the freedom that comes with not working 9-5 that everyone fantasizes about. Being able to come and go as you please. Having the ability to turn away from a job that is too much to handle or not worth the stress. But what you sometimes don't see is the time invested. The time sitting thinking up an idea. Getting the money it takes to pull it off. Getting people to buy into the idea. Not to mention To buy your shit. You always have a boss. You're only as good as your last idea. The fundamental idea here is not looking at the way to free yourself from a "boss" or a "job". Its freeing yourself from caring so much. We all have obligations and shit we ought to do. We ought to pay our bills on time because otherwise Tony is coming to take your Beemer. We ought to eat right otherwise our tickers will atop ticking because of all that drive up fried chicken we eat (team Popeyes). There are ways to free yourself from that shit. For example stop playing on worry rock. Most things in life I have found are for now. The job you have doesn't define you unless you allow it. You can be a rockstar in your mind while you're selling floor tiles in reality. And that's ok. 


You don't have to be a fake Mark Cuban. Focus on what you're doing but also try to get yourself where you want to go. Make things happen for yourself but make sure to get something that's realistically attainable. We all have that thing inside us that makes us go from day to day. Something we want to hide from the world. Don't let it rule your mind. But also don't let go of your dreams even if they look unattainable. If you can't do it all now do some of it. Make as much of it happen as you can. Volunteer. Get a hobby. Mentor. Do something. But don't lose yourself in blond ambitions and hopeful thinking that leads to nothing. It adds stress to your life that you don't need. There's only so many things that you can do. Overloading your brain with the things you can't or couldn't of failed at isn't helpful. Even worse is focusing on everything. You can't do that. You've got to focus on one. Make that happen and then make the next thing happen. And then when you've got those things that you did in your mind, hopefully that shit you worried about before won't seem so hard to handle now. Give yourself a chance to breathe. Enjoy the things you are striving for. But most of all, don't lose yourself in thinking about what you could do when you can get something done that makes you feel less lost. 


This isn't a real episode of Shark Tank or anything. Though I do have a bunch of ideas that I can pitch...if only I had the time. 

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