It’s Not the System, It’s You

Take responsibility for your actions… or lack thereof

Life is tough. The routine, the stress, the arguing, the negotiating, the regrets, the anxiety, the frustration, and the lack of purpose. These persistent feelings surround our existence.

‘It could be worse’ you say to yourself and anyone who’d listen. You got a decent car, a roof over your head, an ok job. All these should be enough to silence that voice of quiet desperation.

However, in the back of your mind, there is this nagging feeling that you can do better, that there are more possibilities, and that you are leaving a lot of potential on the table.

When you speak to your friends, not only do you realize they are in the same boat, they also try to convince you it’s not that bad by saying platitudes like ‘It is what it is’ and ‘What can you do?”

Over a beer you complain about the system, about the invisible hand pulling you down, and about how unfair life is in general.

If you were in charge things would be very different, you argue — there‘d be equal opportunities, no corruption, no discrimination, and no injustices. After venting out your frustrations, you go home and get some rest before another day at the office.

These are some of the culprits you think are to blame for your lack of success:

The government

Politicians are there to play a game, not to help society. Their game is to gain power and then fight with each other to justify their position.

I agree, they are worse than useless, however, you should not expect much from them. It doesn’t matter which political party or charismatic leader is in power. They have less power than you think, they have inherited a system that works (just) and now it’s too late to change it. Every attempt to do so has ended up in total disaster.

Big corp

All the money is in the hands of a few who control the power to hire, promote, and dismiss people at will, no matter how competent you are, and how incompetent they seem to be.

That’s an accurate picture of reality ,one could argue, but here’s the thing, you don’t have to play that game, at least not forever. There are more opportunities than ever to go solo and kill what you eat. Yes, the system is rigged, but still, you can take advantage of any of the cracks in the system if you just stop complaining and take action.

Find your niche and no one will be able to compete with you. Be good at what you do and you won’t have to worry about anything else.

The wealthy

The big players, the invisible hand, and Warren Buffet, all of them conspire to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Quite right. They have the power and they use it for their own benefit, wouldn’t you do the same?

But how do we explain than the top 10 richest people in the world come from modest families?

Google. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Tesla, etc. None of these companies come from money, their founders started with nothing and rise to the top very quickly. This by itself destroys all the conspiracy theories about the rich mafia.

The economy

Yes, a dynamic and fair economic environment is a better place to nurture growth and opportunities.

However, many people have made fortunes during recessions. The market is always eager to buy the right product at the right time. The amount of money flowing to the economy is very similar in any scenario and those who can read the market can make a killing.

For example, during the pandemic, there’s been a boom in sports equipment, DIY supplies, food and household items, and anything that makes it easier to work from home and make money remotely. There are always arbitrage opportunities everywhere.

Discrimination

This is a real problem and it’s very unfair. Still, I believe we have improved a lot in the last few decades and will keep doing so in the future.

Unfortunately, there are still many cases of discrimination, but sometimes it’s possible to find ways around it.

When you are a freelancer or entrepreneur nobody cares about the color of your skin, all they care about is the value you produce. Do you know the gender, sexual orientation or race of the person who sold you what you last bought in Amazon? Exactly.

Plus, discrimination is more salient against the poor. Do your best to escape poverty and you’ll find fewer bigots.

PS. I’m not condoning discrimination at all, I’m just suggesting ways around it while the system becomes fairer.

Corruption

Yes, there is plenty of corruption and that’s unfortunate. However, that’s not affecting you as much as you think. If a few politicians fill their pockets with public money, as despicable as it is, it has zero effect in your life.

So, ignore the news, ignore corruption and do the best you can to live an honest life.

Lack of opportunity

Do you have access to the internet? Do you Speak English? Then, congratulations, you have unlimited opportunities, for learning, for selling, for freelance work, for entrepreneurship and for investing.

The Internet is the great equalizer, the world’s never been flatter. You can make money from arbitrage, outsourcing, FBA, writing, YouTube, podcasting affiliate marketing, etc. The opportunities are endless.

There are a million ways to produce an income from the internet. Granted, it’s not easy, it’s not quick, there are lots of competitors but, if you are prepared to learn and put in the effort you can make a dent and claim your share of the pie.

The real reasons you are still a failure

Sorry to be so harsh (and I speak for myself as well) but, if you are living paycheck to paycheck, scraping by to pay the bills and trap 8 hours a day in a job you hate, you are a failure.

Stop lying to yourself and admit that this is not the way you want to live your life.

The real reasons for your lack of success are:

Denial

You keep lying to yourself about your situation, you say things like ‘It’s not so bad’ or ‘What can I do’. You ignore the fact that you’ve left a lot of potential on the proverbial table and you are living at 10% of your capacity at best.

Denial is a self-protection mechanism but it’s also a mental jail. Open your eyes and realize that you won’t get out of this situation by hiding your head in the sand.

You were born to be great, don’t deny yourself of that opportunity.

Inaction

You have ideas, dreams and half-baked projects but in general, you don’t really take yourself seriously, if you did you’d have taken action by now.

Due to laziness, self-doubt, fear or indecision you let the days, months and years go by with nothing to show for it.

Life is too short to waste in idle pursuits. Wake up and start taking action now. Dedicate at least 1 hour a day to improve yourself and to pursue opportunities to make your life better. Make a habit to go to bed every night a bit wiser than the night before.

Ambition

You are ambitious, you want to do your best, you don’t want to just scrap by but, being ambitious is frowned upon. According to your scripts, ambition is synonymous with greed and we don’t like being seen as greedy.

But let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your life, your financial situation and achieving your full potential. Not only is this not a bad thing, it should be compulsory.

Why would you do and live less than you are? It makes no sense.

So be ambitious and have no shame about it.

Distractions

You are not doing your best and you know it. In order to silence your guilt you engage in endless distractions — Netflix, porn, social media, drinking, etc. Anything that can take your mind off the fact that you are wasting your life.

But here is the paradox:

The more you distract yourself, the more you are wasting your life. You didn’t come here to be entertained, you came here to fight.

To fight for your life, for your future, for humanity, for your family and for the planet.

Stop getting sidetracked with unsatisfying rubbish and get on with your mission.

Lack of focus

Sometimes you start a project after much procrastination but eventually, you get sidetracked. It’s the shiny object syndrome.

In every pursue, there is a time when you hit the wall. Things get difficult, progress slows down, and motivation dwindles. Then you start thinking; maybe this is not my thing, I should try something else, and that becomes the killer of your dreams.

While you shouldn’t do anything you don’t feel passionate about, every project has its ups and downs and you have to fight the lows to get to the other side.

That‘s the universe testing your determination. If you quit, you fail.

Here’s what I do. Try something for 3 months, then decide if it’s your thing or not. If you chose to continue then focus on it for at least 5 years. If you follow that simple rule, you’ll achieve all the important goals in life.

Self-sabotage

You are your worse enemy.

Self-doubt, fear, indecision, procrastination. Deep down you don’t think you deserve to win, that’s why you keep throwing wrenches in your works.

This comes from the ego, that uninvited guest you carry in your head.

Your ego is lazy, fearful, jealous and dishonest. It would do anything to impede change. If you grow and achieve your goals, part of your ego dies. It’s a life or death battle, either you or your ego, take no prisoners.

Taming the ego is not an easy feat, you have to go at it indirectly — meditation, hypnosis, affirmations, visualizations, etc — but everyday you are confronted with it, you are fighting daily battles and by winning a few of those, the ego will retreat.

Don’t drop your guard, defeat your ego and you’ll be invincible.

Conclusion

Stop blaming the system for your shortcomings. The economy, the government, society, the education system leave a lot to be desired. However they are not the reason nor the excuse for your lack of success. You are.

The sooner you wake up to this fact, the sooner you’ll start doing something about it.

Yes, the world is unfair, yes, luck plays a factor, yes, the system is rigged but! even within that imperfect scenario you can do a lot to improve your life and make the world a better place.

Don’t delegate responsibility. Don’t relinquish agency. Don’t blame external factors.

Go out there and take on the world. Fight for your life and never give up. Money, power, and influence have never been more available than now. You are living the golden age, don’t waste it complaining about some minor problems. Grow a pair.