I had a conversation with a friend recently about those new LED billboards on you’re seeing popping up along the interstate. She was complaining about how they’re too distracting, and to those who are visually stimulated (who isn’t – it’s why TV works), they’re very dangerous. She insisted they should be illegal.
Illegal? Geez, bit of a strech there, wouldn’t you think?
I challenged her on this point, noting that if people would just look straight ahead when they drive, as they’re supposed to, there wouldn’t be a problem. Sure, the billboard wouldn’t be as effective, but who cares…that’s the free market at work.
The billboard relies on the fact that most people in this country don’t have an ounce of self-discipline in them. Most people can’t say no to something appealing, can’t control their actions with logical thought. That’s a big deal!
We’ve got to get a handle on this lack of self discipline and self-responsibility. We blame and rely on the government when we get foreclosed on because we bought too much house. We outlaw trans-fats when we get fat because we eat too damn much fast food. We villianize credit card companies when they come to collect on the 24% interest they charged because we’re 6 months late on a payment. Why can’t we admit - it’s our own damn fault?
This is the song and dance of the unhappy, the poor, the unmotivated and the dependant. How can we really be expected to look after our own lives? I mean, after all, so much happens to us.
Let’s compare two people. One has zero self-discipline and personal responsibility. We’ll call him Jack. The other understands that only he can change his circumstances. We’ll call him Joe.
Both Jack and Joe live a normal childhood. Both grow up in middle class families (don’t you dare leave a comment to me and tell me that class makes a difference. So help me…). Both went to an average high school. Whether or not they went to college is irrelevant, but we’ll say they did. They both graduate with a degree in business.
So, the playing field is level. Right now, outside circumstance is negated, because it’s completely the same for both. Let’s see how they approach things when it’s time to get to work on their life.
Jack graduates and fumbles a bit. Knowing he needs a job, he starts looking through the newspaper. Bingo! He finds one. It’s perfect. The description is an entry-level job at a bank, handling books and other basic business matters. He thinks “Nice! This will have a good salary probably. I should apply today.” He writes his resume, and mails it in. Naturally, he addresses the cover letter to “Whom it May Concern”, because the ad didn’t have a name for him to address it to.
Jack knows that it takes awhile for these kind of things to happen, so he waits for a couple weeks to hear back. No call. He decides they’re probably busy and waits another week. At this point, Jack’s pantry is getting thin. He’s been out of school for three weeks now waiting on this job to come through. Any money he was able to save in school is quickly getting eaten away.
Jack never gets a call. He starts looking through the paper again, but week after week doesn’t find anything just right. Jack knows how to do basic business tasks, and most positions want a bit more expertise. Oh how he wants that first job!
Money finally runs out. Jack decides that, as a temporary measure, he’ll apply for food stamps and assistance. After all, he’s got to eat! If they won’t call him and give him the job, how’s he going to survive? He starts buying food with the stamps, and realizes something – he doesn’t need much of a job after all. I mean, sure, he needs something probably, but as long as he’s having the basic necessities cared for, there’s not much of a rush.
Finally, after months of living at the bottom of the barrel, Jack stumbles across a job. The university needs someone to assist a department with some routine paperwork on a weekly basis. Jack starts to work for them, happy that he’s got something “secure”, and the food stamps end since he’s now making more than enough to qualify. He’s on the right track, he thinks.
Then, it happens. The paperwork goes electronic. Jack loses his job.
Like a bottle of shampoo, lather, rinse and repeat. Jack stews over the job loss – how could they do that? He deserves that job. Jack returns to food stamp living, with barely enough to scrape by. Sure, relatives pitch in here and there, but it’s not much. Jack gets a credit card, or four, and racks up piles of debt. He has to after all, just to live, right? Money from relatives stops coming in after Thanksgiving dinners get more and more painful to sit through. Collectors start knocking at the door looking for payment, which Jack doesn’t have. He files for bankruptcy, trashing his credit and trustworthiness in the process. Application after application for jobs goes by, and his past history is too risky for employers. Jack spends the rest of his life stuck in this cycle that he’s SURE he can’t get out of. Life just sucks. Finally, Jack kills himself at the age of 34 as the only way out of the pain.
Let’s now look at Joe. Joe graduates and also looks around for a job. He sees the same problem as Jack. Most people looking for employees want those with more specialized qualifications. Knowing that, Joe visits the library and starts reading. He notices that one company wanted someone with proficiency in strategy planning and management. Joe goes to the library and gets every book he can on these two subjects and starts reading. Meanwhile, Joe is working at a local restaurant, knowing he has to make enough to pay rent and feed himself while he learns what he needs to to move up.
Months of reading and studying in his dimly lit bedroom slip by. The long hours at the restaurant are brutal, and he certainly doesn’t enjoy it, but he knows he’s got to do it temporarily – it’s a means to an end. Finally, Joe feels pretty confident in his abilities and applies for a job looking for those qualifications (yes, the first job is gone, but others are sure to pop up). Joe sends several resumes out and doesn’t hear anything. He calls. He calls often, asking who the manager of that department is so he can send direct correspondence to that person. Sure, it takes guts, but Joe knows if he doesn’t, he won’t get much. Finally! Joe gets called back. He rushes in for the interview (after having to cancel a trip with friends) and gets the job.
Over the next few years, Joe constantly improves himself. Knowing that he can’t rely on his employer for advancement and opportunity, Joe creates it himself. He reads, he studies, he takes free online classes and tutorials. Joe reads every day! He limits himself to an hour of TV a day, knowing that if he lets himself watch too much TV, he won’t get the work done needed to get ahead. He starts reading non-fiction books, instead of the fiction he so loved in college, because he knows if he’s to get ahead, he’s got to take control and change himself. He’s got to make a hard, distinct effort to constantly improve. And does he improve! Joe moves on from position to position, outgrowing where he is almost as quickly as he got there. After 10 short years, Joe is the CEO of a bank…that very bank that Jack applied to after college. Joe loves his family, has time and money to do whatever he pleases and complains that life is just too short. Jack on the other hand, complains that life is too long.
Which one are you going to be? Are you going to be Jack – relying on other people taking care of you, thinking that you deserve this and that? Or are you going to be Joe – take control of your life and make sure you’re making constant improvements in yourself to get ahead.
Yes, we all stumble. We all fail here and there. The point is not whether or not we fail. It’s what we do after we fail that’s so important.
It’s your choice, but I’d rather think that life moves too fast than too slow.
