What’s limiting you?
It’s 5 am and I still can’t go to sleep. I was talking to my friend who is in deep financial trouble. I was on the phone for about 4 hours trying to help him out. He devoted 10 years in college education and he just got fired from a firm that he had been working for about 6 month. With serious debt over $70,000 (yikes!!!) in student loan alone, he’s ready to do whatever he can do.
He’s a type of person who’d never start a business. When I was working hard to get my online businesses to settle he was the one who tried to convince me to get a real job. Well, I had already made a decision to change my path. I knew what I liked the most and I knew internet marketing was the thing for me. At that time, none of my friends and family understood me. But they weren’t limiting me from starting my own businesses both online and offline.
So my friend is in desperate situation and wants my help. Fortunately, he’s still a single, so no families to take care. he’s 28 and… he’s living in his parent’s house…. so other than the student loan and car payments, I think he can live with about $2000 a month. Well, you can get basically any full time job and earn $2000. But I guess he has more expenses that I don’t know.
For 4 hours, I told him everything I know about starting a business of his own so he doesn’t have to worry about getting fired again. He has excellent education background and I emphasize again, single. Which means he still has a room for taking risk of starting a business. I told him, “how about this… how about that… how about what I’m doing, are you willing to come to my house and learn exactly what I’m doing?” and guess what. Even though he’s in desperate situation, something’s limiting him from getting out of his comfort zone.
I really don’t know what it is but whenever I suggested something, he’d give me excuses why he couldn’t do. After 4 hours of conversation his decision is that he’s going back to school so that he doesn’t have to pay the school loan whil he’s at school! and meanwhile, he’s going to get a government job. Starting from scratch.
I felt really dizzy when I heard that and wanted to yell at him. I offered a private consulting for free, and he knows I earn a living from online, but he’s still afraid of even to see what I have to offer him for free.
Well, my point is that, if you really want to go to the next level of your potential, you really need to get out of your comfort zone. Your perceived limitation is just that, perceived by your previous experiences. You are not going to be able to step beyond your perceived limitations unless you decide to try something out of what you’ve been doing.
So what’s limiting you from becoming a better you? Think about it. Don’t let those limiting thoughts decide your destiny.
Just a thought for the night. I need to sleep now. Good night!
January 18th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Oh well Bo, at least you cannot be faulted for trying to teach someone to start their own online business.
December 6th, 2006 at 7:53 am
Wow, what an offer. I’ve always wanted to have an online business. I wish you can teach me too.
October 27th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
I had a exact same situation once again today. I met a friend for a lunch with my wife. She’s a stay home mom because of her new born baby. She wanted to see me if I can find a job for her.
Because I was looking for a few people to work for my business, I could’ve just given her job as a editor since she studied journalism. But because she’s a close friend of mine, I offered her that I’d teach her how to start her own online business.
She said she’d rather just work for me. I can’t forget what my wife told me afterwards.
“Bo, stop trying to convince your friends. They have totally different perspective from yours when it comes to earning money. Just hire her as your editor. She will be happy then.”
Lessons learned again.
October 27th, 2006 at 1:50 am
I’ve been in a very similar situation. When I quit my day job in 1998 to concentrate full-time on affiliate marketing, I tried to persuade a couple of workmates to do what I was doing. They were stuck in jobs they hated, but they had such strong preconceived ideas they wouldn’t even take the time to investigate something new.
I was so frustrated with them that I even took a couple of checks into work and waved them under their noses, but I still couldn’t convince them. Even though they had all the necessary skills, they’d rather stay in jobs they hated than move into unfamiliar territory.
I must admit, if someone had tried to tell me back then that I’d eventually hire staff and own properties in two countries, I would have thought they were dreaming. I’ve found I need to achieve small goals before I can totally believe the next goal.
October 26th, 2006 at 11:33 am
What a story Bo. Your friend does not want to face the reality of life. No condition in this world is permanent. I wonder why he wants to go back to school? He obviously hasn’t realised he is going to end up in more debt.
I wish him well though.
I guess starting a business is really not everyone’s cup of tea.
October 11th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Phew … your friend didn’t know how lucky he was when you offered him a free private lesson (I wish someone would do that to me).
Once a fortune teller said to me that I don’t have much luck in my life, study and work all fail. But I managed to enter top ten best student in my high school, I got good grades in my college, have a great job compare to my smarter friends … I guess the only person who can change your fate is yourself :) and now I try to leave my daily job by focusing on internet marketing … hopefully I can deny that fortune teller’s prediction about my hopeless life.
One of my favorite quotes :
“It doesn’t matter what you think, that’s what gonna happen”
– Henry Ford
October 8th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Good post Bo, I have a few friends who are just like him.
Chris