You see it time and time again. The common example is seeing someone “stuck” in their current job or lifestyle. Walking into the office, punching a time card Monday through Friday, a quick two day break, then back at again. The Monday blues is on rinse and repeat. They may even have some success in their role, but they feel they have no purpose and even miserable at times. Many of their life stories were configured in a similar way. Do well in school, take a massive loan out and go to college, take a loan out for a new car, get 9-5 corporate job, take another loan out for a new home, save for retirement etc,. None of these things in their own respect are wrong, and some of these things are completely needed at times. The point is, living with the question of “what if” becomes a sobering and real thought. Are we living based on what others say? Are the choices we make solely based on what society as a whole considers normal? Have we gone so far in that our values and goals aren’t even our own/have our values changed?
A great example of this was from a friend of mine named Michael. We got hired by the fire department at the same time, went through the fire academy together (seems like a lifetime ago), and were roommates for a while. He was one of the top performers in the academy and went on to be successful as a firefighter/paramedic. He even gave presentations to our entire workforce of over a thousand people about combating child trafficking, and what his non-profit organization was doing to help. After years he began to question if the career path he was in was truly what he valued. Especially after getting married and having a child, he began to think.. Do I really want to be away from my family for weeks at a time? Do I really want to get woken up all night long? Do I really want to spend a minimum of 400 hours a month at the fire station just to be able to provide for my family? With a lot of questioning and thought, Michael eventually resigned from the fire department, which is normally unheard of. Getting hired by the fire department is like winning the lottery to some extent, so most people stay for 20-30 years. Many people questioned him, and did not support what he was doing. After resigning, he moved his family out to the beautiful state of Idaho and started his own business, focusing on Real Estate Investing. Although he took the unpopular or uncommon route, he pursued his new goals according to what his values were.
I highly recommend you check out Dr. John Demartini who is a world renowned expert in human behavior. He dives deep into core values, and even provides assessment tools to do so. In conclusion, here are a few questions that you can use to help determine your values, which will be a catalyst in helping you reach your goals.
- What do you think about most?
- What area do you feel most disciplined?
- What do you love learning/studying the most?
- Where do you spend your money and energy most?
- How do you spend most of your time?
Stay Mission Driven everyone.
This is such a great story and what can happen when we step out of the box!