The Idea Of Success

Take a second and scroll through the four pictures to the left.  Fantasize and imagine what it would be like if that was your life. Look at that house! It is clearly located in an area where the weather is always warm as it is surrounded by palm trees. That pool looks gorgeous right? I'm sure you can picture throwing an epic party poolside. Now check out the bottom floor and notice the fleet of cars parked in the garage. I mean you could drive a different car every day for like two weeks!

So you have the mansion and the cars, whats next? The spouse! Look at these two! Looks like they are closing out a huge wedding complete with sparkles and possibly fireworks. Look at this guy, he is so excited, he is taking off his clothes already! Damn brother!! LOL

Alright, you survived the honeymoon and now it's time to get back to the office and get back to your reality! You kiss your new spouse goodbye and head into your corner office, recline back in your office chair, and gaze out the window of your corner office with floor to ceiling windows. Oh isn't life great?? I mean look at this guy! Sheesh!

 After completing all of your meetings at the office and heading home early for the day, I mean you are a boss so you do what you want, you decide you better check on the finances to make sure all of your purchases have cleared and you discover this is your balance. A cool million dollars! Look at you! Give yourself a pat on the back. You are the definition of Awesomeness!



Is this previously mentioned life attainable? Of course it is. Social media and television bombard us everyday with images of those who have attained this status of living. Whether its blasting Lebron James' new $150 million dollar contract in our faces or talking about who sits on top of the Forbes list of billionaires for the year, this idea of success is forced on you daily! As you listen to the radio or watch your favorite YouTube video, you are subjected to ads that make you feel bad for not being wealthy and attempting to perusade you into spending money so that you can learn how to be rich. The more of this type of media you are subjected to, the worse you begin to feel about yourself as you compare your life to your peers and celebrity lives.

The issue with lusting after this type of success is that while it is attainable, there is a large part of the storyline that is left out. The images that you are subjected to are the outcome of a ton of hard work and dedication. Let's take a look at some of the images that should accompany those previous images of success.

Let's start with the most obvious thing, Bills! Oh yes! Those bills haven't gone away, they simply multiplied and increased. That million dollar home comes with at least $100k in maintenance yearly. If this happens to be your salary of $200k to the left, that's half of your salary!

Now you are under pressure to meet deadlines at work and balance all the bills at home! What does that lead to? You get this shit to the left! He's stressed! She's stressed! Neither of them wants to talk to each other at this moment. As they sit here upset, they both reflect back to that $75k wedding they had in New Orleans. You decide that you can make everything better by just working more hours at the office to make more money. That solution is absolutely possible except you are not kicked back in that corner office anymore!

It looks a lot more like this guy. It's great you decided to take on more work because in the first meeting of the day, your CEO just informed you that you are in charge of the new account your company just landed. She informs you that your salary will increase by about $100k a year but you will also average about 90 hours a week because you will be traveling coast to coast twice a week! You have to pay the cost to be the boss!




So what's the moral of this story? Be yourself! Set your own goals and figure out what your idea of success is. If your dreams align with the millionaire life I mentioned above, go for it. Just be ready to endure the million dollar problems and issues that go with it. I'm not saying that to discourage you, I just want you to realistically prepare for what you are in for. As a Certified Business Mentor for the SCORE organization, I encounter many would-be entrepreneurs who dream big but are searching for a shortcut to achieving their definition of success. The journey of an entrepreneur is a difficult one to say the least. So either "Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable" or keep your day job and stay out of the way of the real hustlers of the world!