Being the first to achieve life’s milestones has its challenges. My university combined theory with practical reality. Not only did we learn about diesel thermodynamics, but also how to time cylinders in a four-hour lab. Most people from my discipline became facility engineers or sailors. And when looking for jobs, I set my sights on similar postings: grease monkey.
The combination of luck, networking and good grades put me on a different course. My “first” job with an awesome global company afforded me the opportunity to travel the world while earning a nice living (with expense account), and doing cool stuff. It opened my eyes to a brand-new world. I met people pursing their MBAs. CEOs. Entrepreneurs. Teachers. Volunteers. Those who dug trenches. Cleaned houses. People from all walks of life. Averaging between 10 to 13 hour days, I found ways to work hard while having fun.
Traveling was great until I grew tired of making new circles of friends every few years. I needed a change and looked around. My peers were pursuing MBAs, and so, I jumped on the band wagon. When I disembarked two years later, I found myself in a foreign country with no job and no friends (once again).
Luck propelled me to another global company to do more cool things with amazing people.
What is the point of all this? Not long ago, the best job I could ever imagine was swinging wrenches at a power plant or a HVAC company. Working every day, ‘earning’ my wages.
Today, I am thinking of ways to make money not from my wages, but from creating value. How to best leverage, delegate and focus. How to be a better leader, manager, and team member. How to be the best me. Money carries a different meaning. Money doesn’t buy you happiness. It buys you time. Passive income trumps active income (wages).
They say you are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. You set your sights to mimic those around you.
So, if you want to dream the impossible, change your habits. Change your surroundings. Change the way you move. Change the way you live your life. Until then, nothing will change. Achieving different outcome by doing the same thing is simply impossible.