A new year, a new month, a new beginning for some, a continuation of the same ole, same ole for others.
What I’ve noticed is a lot of ads and posts on social media proclaiming to double, triple, add zeros to your income stream and tons of predictions of all sorts for business growth and leadership expansion. Have you seen some of them? Everyone trying to grab the mic and proclaim they have the best for you right now!
Whether you take them seriously or look at them as hype promoting some new product or service that didn’t sell well last year, the truth is that underneath all the hoopla is a feeling of uncertainty.
Most people are feeling a year end pinch from credit card over use. Many are tired out and relieved festivities are over and some semblance of balance can come back to roost at home and in the work environment.
And that’s okay because it’s an opportunity to take a serious look at yourself especially when you read all these promises for a greater bank account. In fact, what do you feel and think when you read headlines that “Challenge you to add zeros to your income.” Or “Become the next millionaire” And these are without winning a lottery or inheriting an estate!
Or how about those promises you can expand your social and newsletter reach – exponentially because someone has the “secret formula”.
How do you take these promises with a grain of salt? How do you guard yourself against the “snake oil” sales pitches? How do you tap into what’s true for you and stop throwing money into leaky holes that don’t do a darn thing for your personal or professional growth?
Because really, if you stay the same way you are or deepen debt following yet another self-proclaimed guru who has all the answers for you, you want to be absolutely sure you’re advancing in the right direction, which has to be different than the last one you took. You do want a more fulfilling lifestyle and always want better for your family. You do want your dreams to come true, of that we have no doubt.
So what’s smart person like you to do feeling blasted with all the promises out there?
You take a deep breath, sit back and using your gut and brain, look hard at the decisions you’re about to make.
It’s important to know what is real and what is phoney baloney when it comes to increasing your education, experience and income, especially in today’s high impact advertising and promotional environment.
When your colleagues try to talk you into thinking, feeling or acting a certain way, it’s peer pressure.
• You have to learn not to let people push you around.
• You have to take a stand and not add another debt to your credit cards just because it sounds promising.
• You have to take a hard look at your current situation and dig deeper than ever to find out why your past 5 years have been the way they were. If you don’t, your next 5 years will be the same!
If you don’t know how to protect your future, rebuild it with a new attitude and a shift in how and what you do, nothing will ever change.
You have the strength to stand up and decide what’s right for you. Your feelings and your current beliefs are what got you here today. Which need some changes, do you think? Remember, your beliefs help you understand what is important to you. If they lead you down a limiting, poverty path, change them!
Don’t you think it’s time to stop these self-defeating patterns? The next time you find yourself drooling over some ridiculously “too good to be true” promise of 6 figures even if you’ve never earned that in your last 5 years, take control of your thoughts. Replace the excuse to buy another program with a rational thought from this list or one of your own so you have a clearer strategy when you have a moment of weakness.
• Ask yourself, does this choice look and feel and smell similar to what you’ve invested recently? If yes, then turn it down because you don’t want to regret the decision later.
• Ask yourself, is this an instant gratification payoff because someone else said to give it a try? If yes, turn it down and dig whether YOU want this and not because someone else said so.
• You are genuinely experiencing a need to upgrade or educate yourself in a business premise. If yes, invest and take it seriously enough to complete and note the changes this makes from the past.
And always remember, great job today!
“To thine own self be true.” – William Shakespeare
