These uplifting truths can change even the darkest mood. Let’s get started!
1. You can do nearly anything
Cliche? Yes. But think about how true it is. If you really wanted to, you could go on a long boat voyage.
You might say things like you don’t have the money, or a boat, or live near the coast. This is exactly the type of default thinking that stops people. Their minds immediately go to why they can’t do something, and they turn around.
These “reasons you can’t do it” don’t keep you away on their own, they keep you away because they distract you from solutions like these…
- You could work on a boat – anything from cruise ships to fishing rigs – and get paid to take a voyage!
- You can save up your money for a long cruise. There are insane cruise deals happening all of the time to make it even more affordable.
- You can move closer to the coast (which is another problem to solve in this way), and then make friends with people who have boats. Is it a longshot? Maybe, but it’s not futile to try if you really want it. Offer to help or exchange something in return for a boat adventure. Heck, some boat owners would love to have an enthusiastic companion!
Those solutions were off the top of my head, but they could possibly work. Think about what you could do with some planning. The lesson is to not let the barriers in your way trick you into thinking you don’t want something. Be honest with yourself about what you want, and then get into problem-solving mode to make it happen. Ask how you can do it instead of thinking about why you can’t do it.
2. Your life is a gift
We take life for granted, don’t we? Yes, there are 7 billion of us on this planet, but think of the infinite number of people who don’t exist! You’re one of the lucky few, because 7 billion divided by infinity is an infinitely small number.
3. You have an unlimited allowance for failure
If you start 65 businesses and every one of them fails, but the 66th one makes you a fortune, it still counts. If you embarrass yourself being rejected by hundreds of girls in harsh ways, but the 458th one falls in love with you and you marry her, it still counts. Failure isn’t a big deal. You’ve got to try.
One of the greatest mistakes in life is avoiding mistakes. You can’t expect to live a perfect life, and by trying, you ensure it will be boring. Know the difference between taking a smart risk and a dumb risk, and take smart risks!
4. Nobody wants to stop you
This is a great truth. If I want to build a business empire, the only people who would care to stop me are my competitors. Very few people actually care what you’re doing, so take this as an invitation to do what you want and chase your dreams.
If you’re a person of limited action, it’s easy to slip into the mindset that the world wants you to fail. It’s not true. The world doesn’t care, and it isn’t going to give you anything unless you earn it.
5. The present moment is all you have
Let’s all develop a hatred for later, because “later” ruins entire lives of people who “never got around to it.” Never see today as the exception, because today is the standard of your life. Multiply today by 28,726 and that’s your life. So what do you want your life to be like? Live today accordingly.
6. You have choice
You are so powerful – do you know that?
If you’re in school, you can choose to quit and buy a ticket to Japan with your credit card. That sounds pretty reckless, but isn’t it cool that you have the freedom to do it?
If you’re at work, you can stand up on your desk, beat your chest like a gorilla, and say, “I am the king of this office! Someone bring me coffee!” That sounds pretty insane, but isn’t it cool that you have the freedom to do it?
If you’re shopping in a grocery store, you can grab the nearest beautiful woman and kiss her. That sounds pretty illegal, but isn’t it cool that you’d probably get arrested for that?
If you’re sitting in your bed right now, doing nothing, you can get up, walk into a business, and demand a job, telling them you won’t leave until they give you one. That sounds pretty dicey, but it has worked before, and isn’t it cool that you have the freedom to do that?
Never underestimate the power of choice. You choices make you potentially very powerful and influential.
As told by James Clear in this post (which is spot on), take a look at this story which demonstrates how Richard Branson understands his power of choice (and what it’s done for him):
I was in my late twenties, so I had a business, but nobody knew who I was at the time. I was headed to the Virgin Islands and I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was, umm, determined to get there on time.
At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought this was ridiculous, so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do.
Then, I picked up a small blackboard, wrote “Virgin Airlines. $29.” on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.
~ James Clear paraphrasing Branson’s story
Virgin Airlines is a real airline now, by the way, and they have the world’s first glass-bottomed plane. Crazy.
