I was a songwriter who made no money, so I was a carpet installer. I was a carpet installer who always wanted to cut his head off, so I was a large scale computer system installer. I was a large scale computer system installer who was abandoned by a company in LAX, with no way to get back to my truck in Arkansas, so I could then drive back to Nashville. So then I was a marketing and PR guy. I was a marketing and PR guy who kept getting fired and relying on other people to make my way, and so I started looking for another career.
Not long ago a girl who was 21 said she wasn't sure what she was going to do with her life. Said she was exasperated at trying to figure it out. I told her she was also stupid. This was online. Public. Her mom chimed in, how dare I be so rude.
It's not rude to point out how where you are now in life will be completely different 1, 3, 5 years from now. You don't have to chose what you're going to do "the rest of your life". You won't. You never will.
I've had 15 careers. 1,000 dreams. 10,000,000 ideas. I'm still moving into something I have no idea about. Where am I going? What am I doing? Surviving. Writing. Thinking. Mostly Praying.
I made it through everything. God is good. The right things come together at the right time. The right people come into your life. The right opportunities present themselves.
Keep a lot of balls in the air. Moving forward. If you're a songwriter who can't write songs well enough to get traction so you have to kick carpet and install vinyl in nasty bathrooms, turn into a computer network installer.
If the technology business you're working for out of Arkansas leaves you stranded at LAX with no way to get back to your truck parked in their lot so you can drive 9 hours back to Nashville and you end up spending the night in the terminal and wondering what tomorrow might bring, Thank God for family (they were the one's that rescued me).
Then become a marketing guy. A PR person.
I was the chief marketing officer of a restaurant group. I was sitting at a bar talking to the bartender and he asked what I did, so I told him. He said, oh that's cool, I'm a teaching in High school full time, this is my side gig. I asked his focus. He said business. "Well, if you ever want someone who's made it to the top of their profession to come talk to your students, I'd be happy to. How long have you been teaching?" 15 years. Ouch.
I never graduated college. I knew I'd never come talk to his class. I gave myself my own permission to be the best. Grow the largest. Do what I do. Pivot. Change. Pocket Change. Move from pocket lint to pocket change.
Had I been a songwriter that had written a song that everyone knew I wouldn't need a degree to come talk to a class. The subject would be different. The question might arise, but it's not something that could fundamentally change the entire mindset of a kid.
"Give yourself permission?" You don't do that in school.
But you can do it in life. You do it by not asking anyone else if you can.
Offers/Advertising:
White Hot Weight Loss
Regain Sharper Focus and Boost Your Memory
A Ground-Breaking New Diet
The Jesus Diet