When I was growing up, I liked jigsaw puzzles. Once I was able to put one together, I would move on to new puzzles that weren’t necessarily harder or easier, just different. Once the puzzles were done or I got bored with them, I went out and played.

Jobs are like puzzles and going out to play, well - is still going out to play.

The job you have right now has rules and idiosyncrasies that you have learned in order to do your job well and in exchange, earn XYZ dollars per year. In this job, you may be super comfortable since your job comes with a nice title and as a part of a larger organization, you have that “safety in numbers” feeling. Along with the nice title and connection to a larger entity than yourself comes a steady check of *imagine your paycheck amount here* every 2 weeks. Naturally depending on who’s reading this, the paycheck amount will vary but let me ask you this - if you imagined your paycheck amount in that bolded above, couldn’t you have just as easily imagined a larger number? If you make $45k a year, that’s a respectable sum of money and I certainly wouldn’t offend anyone and say that’s a paltry amount, but why couldn’t it be $150k or even $220k?

You ALREADY KNOW how to make the number of dollars per year you’re making right now. Why not challenge yourself in discovering a new way to make even more? Start a business, offer a unique service, make and sell widgets - do anything!

Is it because you feel like you lack the talent to discover a new way to make more?

If that’s the case, you DON’T lack the talent! Read example 1 about the guy who grinds down baseball bats for a living and makes nearly 100k A MONTH! How much talent does that take? Anyone could learn that process within 2 weeks!

Are you scared of making a lot of money? Why? The CEO of the company you work at probably makes your annual salary in one month! Aside from your positions in the company, is there a rule that says they must make more than you or that they can go out and play and you cannot?

Of course not!

This sounds like a silly question but some people truly are afraid of success. DON’T BE. We only live this life once. If you’re an undergrad in college with a ton of spare time, don’t waste it. If you’re 23 years old with tons of time to spend at the bars, don’t waste it. If you’re 30 and you’re fortunate to have a little more time left in your life where you don’t have to worry about your parents getting older or your biological clock screaming at you to crank out a few kids - don’t waste that precious time you have left to change your life.

Stop wasting your time playing with the same puzzle over and over again. Start something up and come out and play!