Stop talking about what you want to do, and just do it

Nothing aggravates me more than inaction.

People who say they want to get out of debt, or change careers so they can make more money, but then never even try do anything about it, make me want to scream.

These people are lazy, unmotivated and not hungry enough to take charge of their lives and do something about it.

 CASE IN POINT: MISSING OUT ON $130,000

Take for instance a person I have in my life. He graduated with an excellent college degree, and works at what I think is a decent salary ($50,000) for the job at hand.

For the past 2 years, he has been whining to anyone who would listen about how he needs to get out of his job, and getting jealous about how other people (myself included) could be making more than him even though I’m younger.

I did a little research on his industry by asking some contacts of mine who are very successful and I found out 2 things:

1. He could make up to $130,000 a year in his profession
2. It doesn’t require anything except him picking up the reference books and teaching himself what he needs to know for the job

Yes. He could make more than double what he makes now, just by picking up a book and studying.

I passed on all of this information, and upon hearing it, he sort of got a deflated attitude that he would have to *gasp* put in actual work to get more money.

So you can understand when for the third year in the row of this whine fest about how he needed to leave his job and find something else to do that would pay better, I asked him two questions:

1. Do you have a resume ready to leave and job hunt?
2. Have you been studying what the other guys told you to read?

Nada on both counts, and you can understand why I snapped after hearing that he hadn’t even touched the books since we last talked, and his resume was still void of any updated information since has graduated.

I apologized for snapping at him after I calmed down, but I am never going to ever try to help people and expend all of this effort onto those who don’t want to give a rat’s ass to help themselves.

It’s with these kind of people, that I wish would get a reality check and grow up.

They expect life and people in their lives to hand them everything on a silver platter without lifting a finger.

Frankly, I’d love it if they were forced into some minimum-wage job for 3 months to see how other people without their degrees and skills are living, and to realize how good they have it and how grateful they should be for the job and money that they have.

They have to stop being jealous of others, be grateful for what they have, and if they want what others have — they have to bloody work for it.

Nothing comes free and easy in life, if it does, it’s probably not worth having.

 YOU HAVE TO WANT TO HELP YOURSELF

I have very little patience and sympathy for those who don’t want to help themselves.

If you don’t make enough money, but you know it’s because you’re working a part-time job and refusing to try and do anything to improve your situation, you might as well cry me a river.

If you are in debt, but you tell people “I deserve it”, when you go farther into debt by shopping, going on vacations you can’t afford or what have you, then don’t be surprised if no one empathizes with you.

 YESTERDAY, YOU SAID ‘TOMORROW’  — A NIKE AD

Stop talking about what you want to do, and just freakin’ do it.

If not, you better just admit that you’re waiting for something that won’t happen.

Actions speak louder than words, and if you are in debt, you can:

1. Make up your mind and be 100% determined to get out of it, no matter how hard it is
2. Start learning how to make a budget
3. Start tracking your expenses (a budget is useless if you don’t know where your money actually goes each month)
4. Start opening those bills, and start reading and recording down what you owe, at what interest rate and to whom
5. Put every penny you have towards debt, because it is now your #1 priority

 YOU WILL FALL OFF THE WAGON

I freely admit that I have been utterly stupid many times in my life. I have spent money when I didn’t have it, because I didn’t really put debt as my #1 priority, and instead of putting $100 more towards my debt, I spent it on myself.

These are all things I look back on, cringe at how dumb I was, and take a moment to remind myself that the positive thing is that I eventually got the hang of debt repayment and turned it around.

You WILL fall off the wagon, like I have.

You WILL buy things you will later regret.

The trick to all of this, is more that you are trying and taking action upon your situation rather than helplessly waiting for someone else to come along and fix it for you with a magic wand.

You have control over your money, and if you are not sleeping well at night, or you find that you have to dip into credit cards to make ends meet to put food on the table or what have you, then you need to take action.