You owe it to yourself, Work harder!

Ok, so now I’m in Connecticut and have finally fallen into my routine….and when I say routine you know that means work, working out, and planning to work. Which also means more consistent blogging.

In hindsight getting let go from my other company was the best thing that ever happened to me. Yeah, I moved away from some good friends but you will do that three or four times over the course of your life anyway. If they are good friends then they will always be good friends. Right? There’s 100's of different ways to keep in contact so it’s just up to me to make sure it happens.

Now it’s apparent more then ever that multiple streams of income is needed for any kind of mental stability. You can no longer count on your 9 to 5, but I know we already knew that.

As I said in an earlier post, when things are going well it’s time to work harder, smarter, and give more of yourself to reach your goals. I can say, I worked my butt off over the past 16 weeks looking for a job, living on the tightest budget, and moving cross country on a dwindling bank account, so now I'm going to take it easy......but that wouldn't be smart. That wouldn't be how I roll. How I roll is: I take it easy for one night. Treat myself to a nice Olive Garden dinner and then kick it into overdrive. If I could work that hard with no resources, imagine what I can do now.

When you look at those less fortunate then you, you should feel that sense of responsibility that makes you want to go all in, everyday. When you drive to work and you see the guy working a job that just sucks a$$.......Wait a minute let me clarify, as to not offend anyone.........."sucks a$$" is relative. The high powered exec going to power lunches everyday, with a personal assistant, playing golf, making deals, looks at a middle management position like "that sucks".

The guy in middle management looks at the new guy doing grunt work and says, “That sucks”.

The entry level guy goes to Dunkin Donuts and is getting served by a 30 year old with 3 kids and says "boy that would suck".

The 30 year old with three kids passes by a bum begging for money as he gets on the bus to work and says, "Man I'm glad I'm not him". So "sucks A$$" is relevant.

OK, where was I? ...Oh yeah, we should all work our a$$es off at whatever we currently have with what we currently have, and compare your present situation to what you want for your future.
GOT IT?

You owe it to all of those who don’t have what you have. If you have a job, you owe it to those who are unemployed and truly looking. To owe means going into work and appreciating and working the hell out of your current job even though you hate it. That should only be one part, it should extend to all aspects of your life. You owe it to those who are not as healthy as you are, to work out and maintain your health. Enjoy the physical wealth God has given you and maintain it. Don’t take it for granted.

This extends to your mind; nurture it for all of those who can’t think as well as you can. For those who can’t pick up a book and just read and learn. When you think of the world like that, how could you not want to do more, or be more.

One last note…..

You know I had to mention or boy, Tiger Woods. He just picked up PGA victory 69 and 70. This is a true testament to how great someone can become if they do everything they can to be the best they can be. Week after week. He misses the cut at the British Open just to win his next two events. Imagine what he did after he missed the cut. Imagine the work, the attention to detail, the dissecting of his drives, the amount of practice putts, equipment checks, you name it. He makes it look easy but you better believe it’s hard. He knows that he deserves everything that is due to him, because he’s earned it, and continues to work for it. He is proof that you can stay on top week after week, year after year if you just work!


Let’s go earn ours. It’s time for us to be great. We owe it to God for blessing us with what we have, we owe it to all those who don’t have and want what we got, and most importantly we owe it to ourselves.

Time to go all in.

-MJL.

My Epic Battle with Unemployment: Hustling to find a Hustle!

Never before have I felt as qualified as I feel now to write this blog. Do you guys remember when I wrote the post "The Boiling Frog Syndrome". Well guess what, my time came and I got the shoulder tap. They laid my black a$$ off!
First of all, even though I knew we were doing bad, my ego and my logic thought there were still certain people that had to go before they gave me my walking papers. The problem there, is that logic (and ego) have no place in Corporate America.

The tale of my unemployment is one for the ages! The moves I made; the friends that I have who stepped up; and the mental a$$ whippin' I took on a daily basis makes for good blogging.

The good part is: I came out on top. Just like Kobe in my previous post, the best always rise to the top. The other good part is that I am at a new job, where no one knows me, my blog, my other businesses so I can post here as candid and truthful as I want.

Just think, if I didn't come out of this good. All of the my talk about positive thinking, motiviation, Jim Rohn this and that, Tony Robbins ths and that....my working out, my ambition, my hope & dreams would have all just been me talking smack! And we all know that I love to talk smack but I also back it up. That's just what I do!

I have kept a journal of my unemployment time so I have postings that you will find fascinating. I will also post the various things that I did to find work, some that were successful and some that weren't.
I would like to begin these series of blogs on unemployment with a description of how the story ends.

The end goes:
2 Job Offers, An increase on an already six-figure income of $4,500.00, a move to the East Coast, 90 miles from family (versus 600 miles) and a shorter drive to work. Not to mention the chance to reinvent oneself again.
Easily the hardest thing that I have ever had to overcome in my life, but also the most life changing event.

Look for the rest of the Blog series: Hustling to find a Hustle.

For now, back to my 9 to 5!

-MJL

The Best Continue to Rise to the Top

When you are the best, you can't be held down. Period! Look at Trump, look at Tiger, and the latest example of this is none other then our man Kobe. Everyone loves to hate Kobe. They don't see how much work he puts in, they just think he is naturally that good. What makes Kobe unbelievable is that he's good, but continues to work to be the best. How crazy is that, you are already on the top of your game, but yet you are in the gym at 5:30 making sure that you are working harder then anyone in the league.

Rape charges, pulled endorsements, and a feud with Shaq and he is still back on top.
You can dislike him, but it will only make him stronger. The hate, makes him great!