It’s time. Whereas I enjoy focusing on personal finance fundamentals most of the time, I have something that I need to get out. It’s busting at the seams.
When you are done reading this post, I can guarantee you two things:
- You will not “X” this article thinking about a mundane personal finance topic.
- You will take a step towards greatness.
How can I possibly guarantee you these two things? Because I have been practicing these simple steps for years and have had extraordinary personal and professional growth all along the way. It’s actually a daunting task to put this into words.
Importance of Focus
Most people think focus generates greatness. And I agree. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates didn’t merely stumble upon greatness. They didn’t twiddle their thumbs as it fell into their laps. They took the bull by the horns and they forced the issue. Against all odds of mediocrity, they won the battle through focus, determination, persistence, and some “pizzaz.”
And how does this correspond to our lives? Most of us are engaged in a constant search, even struggle, to figure out how to best leave our mark on the world. We could leave $4 million to charity, we could invent an awesome technology that filters water quickly, effectively, and cheaply. In other words, ensuring Wal-Mart has enough of my companies product for a Memorial Day sale is not my life’s ultimate purpose.
My quest to find meaning is constantly pulling me in various directions. Some of these tangents last only seconds. Some weeks. It has been 7 months since I started My Life ROI. Do not get caught up in immediacy of results. Self-discovery is fluid. The important thing is to keep our minds open and experiment with what works in our own lives. There is no other way.
What’s the point?
If you find yourself lost in some aspect of your life, then choose to be great at something else – Your job, a personal relationship, a hobby, anything. Start from scratch. Tackle it with integrity and work ethic and create your greatness. One aspect of your life will never define the totality of your character. Leaving something behind does not dilute your greatness, it magnifies it. – MLR
This thought process leads to an inner conflict in most determined people. Being told to quit something goes against the grain of what they believe in.
Quitting? Or A Step Towards Greatness?
To be clear: I’m not saying you should quit. I’ll show you what I mean using the above example.
Bill Gates obviously had a lot of focus. I think that is undeniable. He had a vision and he saw it into fruition. Yet he dropped out of Harvard to reach that vision. Some people would harp on that aspect of his life as a 
failure. But what’s the point? Gates merely looked at his life as an opportunity and cast out the part where he thought he wasn’t gaining anything. He took one small step back, and one large leap forward.
He is the personification of: “Leaving something behind does not dilute your greatness, it magnifies it.” Had he graduated from Harvard and gone on to work in the computer industry, he may have been successful. Maybe more, maybe less. But his remarkable bravery to leave behind Harvard to give 100% to his goal of Micro-soft makes his achievement that much more great, in my eyes.
And that is what I want everyone of you to think about. I want you to re-define the words “quitting” and “success.” To quit something is not to fail at something, to fail at something does not mean you did not gain from the experience, and success isn’t always a measurable or even logical goal. And therein lies my answer to the objection.
Is there anything that you do right now that doesn’t add value to your life? Is it holding you back from doing something you would really enjoy? What is holding you back from fixing this situation?
The First Step is the Hardest
We would all be liars if we said that we always take opportunities, no excuses.
We’re all extremely busy. It’s our lifestyles. If we don’t work 10-12 hour days, we have our kids softball practice, PTA meeting, dinner, and laundry. Simply said, we 
are all busy and we all wear many hats, so to speak.
The easiest thing to do is cast off any ideas you have as “too time consuming” or “too divisive” because it doesn’t work with your current situation. I would challenge you to think of it this way: If it works perfectly with your current situation, you aren’t digging deep enough. Here’s my challenge to you: You need to leave your comfort zone and make a change.
But the question comes in to play: “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Do the pros outweigh the cons for you to leave your salaried job and become a stay at home parent? Yes? Then do it.
If we resign to living our lives repeating the motions we are placing a burden upon our shoulders that will negatively affect every other aspect of our life. So what is the true answer? Forgetting something that you are miserable at and instead doing something you are GREAT at. Your greatness in that area will permeate the rest of your life and lead to an all around improvement.
Homework
These are my struggles and I deal with them regularly.
Sometimes I feel like I am stretching myself like a little Stretch Armstrong toy. But after I’m all stretched out, I’m better for it.
Think about where you are in your life. Are you happy with it? Are you happy with where you’re heading? If you are doing something (remember: job, school, relationships, hobbies) right now but you are doing it at a mediocre level, is it worth it?
It all comes down to this one question:
Do you want to be great?
I'm MLR. After graduating from college debt free, I decided to write a blog encouraging people to adapt responsible and sensible personal finance rules.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:29 am |
Like you mention the first step is the hardest. Staying focus and having a plan is key to keep the motivation alive. May not get you to greatness, but will get you on the right path.
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 3:39 pm |
@Craig,
Exactly. There are no guarantees, but any step in the right direction is a good step!
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October 5th, 2009 at 12:14 pm |
About stretching oneself, though…. I’ve just done this with a couple things over the past two, three years – and – you really have to be careful that you’re not taking on too much risk, because it can backfire and sabotage the initial “success” you had. Not trying to be negative here, just saying that it might not be so simple as putting as much on your plate as you can almost not carry. I think it’s good to push, but I do think there is such a thing as “too much” – you need to find the right balance. It sounds cliche now that I write it, but I’ve just experienced it – and you really don’t want to lose what you already had because of too much brazenness. Maybe I’m wrong? I think it’s a fine line. Great post! Always good to hear how others get inspired.
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 3:41 pm |
@MoneyEnergy,
The threshold is a very individualized one. Your threshold may not be the same as mine, so I wasn’t sure how to include that. I rarely buckle under pressure, but some of my friends do. I figure everyone needs to take a step back and analyze their best course of action.
And I don’t think you are being negative at all, you are being a realist. That is JUST what is needed in these kinds of conversations!
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October 5th, 2009 at 12:25 pm |
Anybody who harps on Bill Gaits’ failures, whatever they might be, is pretty silly. Would that I had one hundreth of the success he has in my projects, I would be as “successful” as I am happy (But being happy is also pretty awesome!).
David Leonhardt´s last blog ..Look who follows NoFollow links!
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 3:42 pm |
@David Leonhardt,
Yeah, I doubt many people harp on his failure — Which I guess proves my point to a degree? His failure is way overshadowed by his success, but his failure helped him get there by striking when the iron was hot, as they say.
We all wish he had one hundredth the magnitude of his success… I do! :)
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October 5th, 2009 at 4:37 pm |
So what’s your greatness? I feel like I’m reading “A Guide to Winning Gold at the Olympics” by someone who’s never even competed there. It makes me (justifiably, I think) skeptical. No offense, but you seem like some random 20-something professional/blogger, among a sea of the same. You write a blog, and you work at some giant corporation.
If you know how to achieve greatness, where are the gold medals? The world records? The Nobel Peace Prizes? The elections you won? The non-profits you founded? The lives you saved? Shouldn’t you have something to show for your knowledge on the topic?
Like I said – I’m skeptical.
Tyler Karaszewski´s last blog ..Summer Update
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 5:18 pm |
@Tyler Karaszewski,
Skeptics will always be skeptics, in my experience.
I may just be a “20-something professional/blogger,” but I have advanced past the point in my life where I think I need to quantify greatness with “gold medals”, “Nobel peace prizes”,”elections”, etc. Are you telling me that you do not know anyone who is great that does not have some medal or award on their wall?
Do you think a person who dedicates their life to being a great mother is not great because she lacks the approval of a large body of people (which seems to be the overriding theme in your list of measures of greatness).
But, alas, to answer your question more directly:
-In college, while working full-time and attending classes full-time, I took over the web presence of a non-profit foundation. My actions led to a 300% increase in donations that funded the building of a primary school in Africa. They are now building a 2nd school. I’m still involved with them, albeit on a smaller scale.
-In college, I was an officer of the largest club in my Top 25 business school and led a campaign that doubled our membership. I also led a campaign to obtain “Business Partnerships” which enabled us to give out $50,000+ in scholarships.
-At my current Fortune 100 company (you were right, I work for a big corporation!), I was given a selective award (sort of like a MVP) from a Vice President. I think he said that I was amongst the few people who have ever received that award after being with the company for such a short time.
-And, most importantly: I am a great sibling, child, uncle, cousin, friend, and boyfriend.
Thanks for commenting, I think you asked a pertinent and much deserved question. I would, however, think about how you asked me to “prove my greatness.” I listed those first 3 to satisfy your question, but I think the last one is the most important. Often times people let the minutia get in the way of being a great ____ (insert any personal relationship).
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Tyler Karaszewski Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 7:32 pm |
@MyLifeROI, Because I picked typical examples of greatness doesn’t mean I think that my examples form a comprehensive list. I asked for your resume, and you gave me it (in part). Those things are all fine and good. I’m not trying to discredit them, you seem to be doing alright.
I started writing out a longer response, but deleted it — there’s nothing really to criticize in what you’re doing. I’ve just moved past needing to read this “motivational speaker” genre on the internet. I’ve started to question whether it’s even useful. That came out personally against you which may not have been justified, although I still question the value of this sort of writing.
But I shouldn’t impose my values on your site. I should just stop reading this type of material, and focus on real things in my life.
Tyler Karaszewski´s last blog ..Summer Update
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 5th, 2009 at 7:43 pm |
@Tyler Karaszewski,
Fair enough. I’m sure you understand why I’m not about to post every achievement I’ve ever had on the internet. I cherry picked a few just to show you that I do apply these principles in my life and I’ve made them work. I’ve quit quite a few things before finding something else that I do great.
I understand where you’re coming from in regards to the motivational speaker genre of blog posts. I rarely write about this sort of stuff. I am typically more analytical. I just need to practice writing in another voice. That AND I’ve noticed a lot of motivational posts don’t give it to people straight. “Keep trying… you’ll get there!” “Don’t give up!” And I think that’s crap. Giving up is part of life. You can’t be great at everything, that’s just the way it is. Maybe I gave myself too much credit in thinking this was “different” than the norm, but I’d say more often than not people sugar coat their motivational posts.
Feel free to stop by more, it’s good to have someone who can articulate their thoughts — whether they agree or disagree with me!
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MoneyEnergy Reply:
October 6th, 2009 at 1:12 am |
anyone who’s ever pushed themselves beyond their own boundaries is their own hero. I’m sure you’ve done this too, just remember that feeling. It took a lot of courage to get there. When you’ve climbed your ownmost mountain, you know it. You can see it coming, you can feel the pain of climbing it and then you know when you’ve completed it. (at least with some things, anyway).
The difference is defining greatness intrinsically vs. extrinsically. You make your own marathon, you beat your own time. Some of the biggest personal wins might be (more or less) invisible to everyone else!
MoneyEnergy´s last blog ..Will the September Correction Come in October?
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October 6th, 2009 at 12:47 pm |
I especially like the part about the first step being the hardest. I think for the most part it’s like Momentum in Physics (wrote about this a while back). Once you take a step in a certain direction and begin to perform in that direction, you become more and more impossible to stop and harder and harder to distract.
So even when the direction might seem unsure, if it’s something that you feel adds value, then pursue that direction.
Damilola´s last blog ..Money Tips from a Professional Student: On Expensive Textbooks (Part 1)
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 7th, 2009 at 3:32 am |
@Damilola,
Thanks! Great connection to a physics/science concept of momentum. I think that is the perfect way to capture the idea of someone heading down the right path with the right “energy” behind them.
Building upon your last sentence, pursuing the “wrong direction” could become more valuable than the previously considered “right direction.”
Thanks for the comment!
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