I saw a motivational speaker that said the very thing that is on our minds most of the time as we move through life, “Shut up. I’m trying to do something here.” I know that we all want to pretend like those not-so-nice words don’t cross our minds and sometimes our lips, but the reality is that sometimes you have to put the brakes on negative friends, family and co-workers and take charge of your dreams.
Accomplishing dreams is a path on the horizon and you just have to know the steps to take to gain success. Take your next idea and change it into career motivation as the country moves past the recession and into future gain.
Be like the torpedo
Motivational speaker Victor Antonio started out with his family in Cabrini Green before his mom moved them out of state. From his journey to define his own destiny, he tells a story that is useful if you’re in a rut in your career or been downsized and considering what to do next.
A torpedo is sent after a target. It heads out in the water looking for its target. It runs into something and bounces back, going out again with new information about something that wasn’t its target. It continues on course. The torpedo runs into something else and gets more information. Then it returns to course, better for having gone in different directions and picked up different things. When it finally hits its target, then bam! It explodes.
Be like the torpedo in life. Keep trying until you find the thing that you’re passionate about and then your career will take off. Go to www.victorantonio.com.
Silence the haters
It’s inevitable that in the course of your life change or your career transition someone will hate on your game. Keep playing the game of life and leave the haters behind. It’s impossible to try to do something good or motivational without someone with something negative to say popping up. Be an optimist and look to the future instead of dwelling on the possible outcomes. Nike made a fortune telling you to “Just do it” and you can make a fortune by putting your plans into action.
Optimism about your prospects is something that starts in childhood. Pessimism is something that sets in throughout the course of life as you suffer some defeats. It’s not possible to be optimistic about every single thing you hope to accomplish all the time. It is possible not to be pessimistic about every thing you do in life. Antonio pinpointed a common characteristic of the eternal pessimist: “They believe everything is personal, permanent and pervasive.” Life is not personal. Neither is failure. It is a barometer of success but not a determination that you cannot succeed and win. Silence the haters around you and within. And keep moving toward your goals.
Yes, you can
Telling you that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to is your mom’s job. And she probably told you this all while you were growing up. Then you grew up and started working and so many goals fell to the wayside. When you forget what your motivation is and your purpose and you are just going to work every day, you need to revamp your life, set a new goal to strive for, and determine a time when you expect to achieve your goal. If you have people around you preventing you from dreaming and cooking up a plan, remove the pessimists from your life. Take a page from Sherman Klump in The Nutty Professor and repeat “Yes, I can” to yourself, stomping on the floor if it adds determination and makes you laugh in the process.
Remember that no one can take your life or career goals away from you. You are the expert on you and what you can accomplish. If you sit around and wait, you will find that your dream or plan has been executed to perfection by someone else leaving you sitting there claiming, “Hey, that was my idea.”
Angelic Jones is a freelance writer and book reviewer for Austin Weekly News.
