10 Costly Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Life Forever
You still got time, but less than you think
You have dreams. You are ambitious. You’ve been told you have potential, intelligence, and determination ever since you were little.
You are young, you can still make it. Things are not quite working out for you yet, but it’s just a matter of time, you keep telling yourself. When that investment pays off… when I get that promotion…when I start that business…
All the ingredients are there, but something is missing, and without that, you won’t stand a chance. I’ve seen the signs many times in myself and others and they never make it unless they completely overhaul their lives.
Success is not compulsory, sometimes is not even desirable, but if you really want to make your mark in the world, live a fulfilling life, and develop your potential, you must get rid of the following flaws.
1. Arrogance
You need a certain amount of ego and self-belief to cut through the jungle of life, but unless you admit to yourself that you know nothing and are eager to learn, your chances of success are virtually zero.
Let’s face it, we don’t know shit about anything. The world is moving so fast that even the experts are caught off guard on a daily basis. But not you. You are so special, so visionary and so right that the world is amazed at how they managed to survive without you this far.
Cure: Humility
Look at yourself in the mirror and say: “Today I’m going to fuck it all up unless I’m really careful, I must examine my mental models and get some perspective”. You are just a little baby crawling through the floor. Experiment, test, discover but don’t get too cocky. Without mummy you are dead.
You still have a lot to learn, we all do, and listening to others, reading and questioning everything is vital if you want to succeed.
Don’t be that overconfident jerk, stay humble.
2. Chaos
You are still young and think you can get away with living la vida loca, but you won’t. That’s just denial.
No matter where you live or under which conditions, you must add structure to your life in order to be productive. This means:
- Getting up early. Sleeping in and trying to catch up later never works. The mind is productive in the morning, not in the evening. Don’t pretend you can handle it
- Build habits. Only when you do the same thing at the same time every day for years can you achieve the flow estate necessary to win.
- Develop structure. The place you live and the place you work must be temples of peace and stillness. For this, you need to design your space in a clean tidy, and distraction-less way. Get rid of the mess, put away your phone, and focus 100% on the task at hand
- Get rid of bad habits. You think you can get away with murder, but you can’t. Drinking, smoking, junk food, staying up late, bad companies, all that is dead weight you’re carrying around. You either get rid of that now or it will get rid of you
3. Comfort
Oh dear! The nice old sofa! Let me put it bluntly: you can either be comfortable or be successful, you can’t have it both ways, sorry. No one has ever achieved anything by taking it easy.
Every time you feel content, good and relaxed, you are not growing, and that means you are shrinking. Ask yourself this question daily: Am I too comfortable? If the answer is yes, then change.
I know, it’s a pain, but such is life. Do you know who’s really comfortable?: Those people who go to the shop every day in pajamas to buy beer and cigarettes. Do you want to be like them? Do you think they are happy? Then change.
4. Timidity
I know the feeling. You want to leave your mark in the world but, what if you offend anyone? What if they disapprove of your determination? What if they think you’re weird?
If you want to please everyone, two things are going to happen:
- You won’t please anyone
- You won’t achieve your mission
You have to stop giving a shit about anybody’s opinion, especially from the FUDders, the fear mongers and the naysayers. Listen to the people that know more than you, who have done something remarkable and those who you secretly admire. The rest can go take a walk.
Practice daily your shame muscle. Put yourself in situations where you face criticism, judgment, and even ridicule. Start a blog, a YouTube channel, or a podcast and tell the world about your mistakes. Let the haters destroy you. That’s the only way to develop thick skin.
5. Attachment
What brought you here won’t take you to your destiny.
Sometimes we must get rid of the deadwood in order to continue our journey. Old habits, hobbies, mindset, and even friends must go if we are to move forward.
Maybe you loved watching movies or partying when you were younger, but now that must go if it’s become an obstacle to your mission.
When something it’s not helping you, then, it’s hindering you.
6. Greed
You must never work for money, that’s the worst way to make a living. Work for passion, equity, or learning.
Money is great and it’ll come eventually, but don’t fall into the trap of quick easy gains. Nothing is quick or easy. The worst thing that can happen to you is to win the lottery when you are young.
Stay away from the perks money brings — Luxury, brands, status, cars. All that will ruin your life. Not worth it.
7. Impatience
Anything worth it, takes longer than expected. Learn to enjoy the process, to do one thing at a time, to focus on the task at hand. Don’t try to rush to the finish line where you’ll get your reward. The reward is doing what you love now. Everything else is a fallacy.
8. Entitlement
Just because you are middle class, come from a wealthy family, or were labelled intelligent at school, it doesn’t give you any right in life. You’ve been lucky so far, but if you keep abusing your privileges, you’ll pay a huge price.
People smell entitlement from a mile away and they don’t like it one bit. You have to get along with people in order to live a decent life. Respect everybody regardless of their status, social class or money. Practice humility and get rid of whatever legacy you got from the past. We are all blank slates.
9. FOMO
There are always distractions, shiny objects, and time-wasters that will divert your focus.
Don’t follow them. Once you’ve determined your mission, stick with it and cancel everything else. You can’t play candy crush and build an empire, you can’t switch lanes 23 times and make progress, and you can’t pursue every hot opportunity in town and achieve your goals.
It just can’t be done. Don’t even try
10. Denial
Maybe you’ve read this far and you think: Yeah, right. I can do all those things and still make it. Well my friend, welcome to denial land, the place where you’ll remain stuck for life.
I’ve been there and still am, in some ways, but no one can lie to yourself better than you. You have mastered this art for years. So every time you catch yourself in possible denial ask yourself: Am I going to lie to myself again?
Denial is a tool we use to make up an alternative reality that feels nicer. It’s like a paradise for losers. Get away from that island, it’s too crowded.
Conclusion
You will make it. But first you have to clean your closet.
Start today. Design your life in a way that when the garbage is out, the good stuff is in. Never become complacent or your ego will take over and bring you back to comfortable limbo.
You only got one chance. Don’t waste it living a mediocre life. Follow your dreams and fulfill your potential. Everything else is fluff.