Note: Today’s post is a guest contribution from Joel Runyon.
The best part about your life: you’re the boss of it. No matter what else happens around you, you always get to control you.
You’re the boss of your own life. But how often do you act like it? It’s easy to cede authority and let other people have control over what we do. It’s a good way to escape responsibility for our own actions and play the victim role.
But if you were to step back and look at your life like a boss would, would you be happy with the level of work you’re putting in to achieve your goals? Or would you be appalled at the level of hustle that you’re putting out for the things you “most want” in life? You’re the boss of your life. It’s time to start acting like it.
“Everyday I’m hustlin’ hustlin’ hustlin’ hust-hustlin’” – Rick Ross
Have A Purpose… Like a Boss
What’s your purpose? What are you working toward? Most people don’t know. They just go about their lives and make decisions without thinking about what they’re building, what they’re creating and what they’re working towards. If you did this for a boss at work, you’d be fired.
Know what you’re working towards. Have a purpose behind your actions and align them accordingly. Realize that with every single action you’re building something and make sure you’re building something you’re going to like.
Start On Something… Like A Boss
Get off your butt and start. Do something. Anything. Pick something you think is worth spending your time on and try it.
If you like it, keep doing it. If you don’t, find something else you’re passionate about and do it with purpose. Life is way too short too keep waiting and waiting and waiting. Do something. Do it now.
Keep On Working… Like a Boss
Work your butt off. Success doesn’t come easy. At the World Domination Summit, Leo from ZenHabits talked about how he used to write up to 20 posts a week for his site and others. It’s easy to think that successful people just “fell into it” or hit the lottery but it’s not true. They worked their butts off at crummy jobs and did stuff they didn’t want to do in order to get where they wanted to go.
If blogging isn’t your thing, read this piece by Billionaire Mark Cuban, Owner of the Dallas Mavericks. See all the crappy jobs he had and notice how he did his best in all of them, and kept learning and improving despite his situation. It’s not easy. But if you want to, you can do it.
Find Some Inspiration… Like a Boss
Find people who are where you want to be. Study them. Find out what makes them tick. Find out their story. If they have a blog, go read their archives.Watch how they evolved. Email them. Ask them what helped them get where they were.
People are more accessible than ever these days. People like Seth Godin still answer every email (if that doesn’t blow your mind, it should). Gary Vee reponds to thousands of tweets and even takes people to Jets games if they’re persistent enough. Find people who are where you want to be. Then do you best to be around them as much as possible. Watch their attitudes start rubbing off on you.
Keep Pushing Forward… Like a Boss
This is the most important step. I can’t stress it enough. When everybody else quits, keep going. I went from not making the 7th grade basketball team to being the only senior on my high school team to play basketball in college just because I didn’t quit. It wasn’t because I was a million times better than everyone else, but I worked my butt off and kept playing when everyone else just fell off and quit.
It’s amazing how far persistence will get you and how soon other people will call it quits. My friend Nate is in Kansas right now, halfway through his trek across America on foot. Oddly enough, I know a few other people have told me that they were going to try to walk across America and Nate’s the only one still going.
The odd thing is Nate’s not doing anything special other than not stopping. Every day he gets up and walks 15-25 miles with his cart named Wilson. Day after day after day after day after day after day. He just keeps walking. Pretty soon, he’ll be in San Francisco, having walked all the way across America. All by doing one action, repeatedly and refusing to quit. When everybody else goes home. Keep going.
Being “Busy” vs. Hustlin’
Being busy is often confused with hustling. If you’re busy, you have to be hustling, right? Wrong! Hustling is doing work that matters. Work that’s important, that’s urgent and that has to be done. Checking your email does not count as hustling. If it did, Rick Ross’s song “Every Day I’m Checkin’ Email”, would be much less compelling. Do stuff that matters.
So get out there, and figure out your purpose and start hustlin’. Because if you want something to get done in your life, you’re going to have to start to do something about it and start hustlin’…like a boss.
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Today’s guest post was courtesy of Joel Runyon. Joel writes about pushing your limits and telling a great story by doing impossible things. Watch him cross things off his impossible list and catch up on twitter. For “inappropriate laughter,” check out this music video… like a boss!
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Love it! Folks like you are my inspiration. 🙂
Thanks Bethany :). Now use that inspiration to go do something impossible.
Like clean my apartment! -=)
awesome post! 🙂 i'm preparing to walk/run(if i can!!) a half marathon on january 30 2012 in miami. i already signed up for it! and other stuff in between related to getting published…i'll keep you posted. thanks for your great inspirational messages!
You can totally do it Marina :). Good luck with the goal and find a good training program (I used this one – http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/) and you'll be set! Let me know how it goes!
Awesome Marina… Congratz!!! -=)
Thanks for running this post Jacob. Awesome to be published on Sensophy. Keep up the good work brother!
No diggity no doubt dude!! (Too much AM Snoop Dogg) Thanx for the contribution homey.
Hey Joel,
Thanks for the kick in the ass! : ) I am a self employed artist and know the beauty and the horror of it all…It is always important for me to be motivated by others, your post did just that. In a good way, not overwhelming, realistic, and with a sticking to the basics attitude. For me it is always about baby steps, baby steps and more baby steps, but when I look back I see the progress!
I am at the age that I can say……Life is short…make it a beautiful, meaningful journey…work hard and love as much as you can!
love and light to all.
Love it!
Baby steps out the door…baby steps to the bus….
Joel and Jacob – thanks for the great post. Very real-world…how do I move my dreams from my head into the world? Well, DO them, minute by minute, in these specific ways. And it's great to read this kind of post as I sit down at my desk that can feel isolated or connected, all depending on the energy I bring to the moment. Thanks for helping keep me in the connected energy! Hugs!
LOL! That's awesome. Thanx for sharing Scout!! Let's chat soon -=)
*Hugs*
Nice post Joel! For me one problem has been getting up early.. I'm going to set a goal and work on it little by little. I think consistency is key.
I have that problem too. I found a few good things to do in the morning (http://www.joelrunyon.com/two3/5-great-early-morning-activities) and use that as motivation to get a little extra in before everybody else. Good luck!
Pick something you think is worth spending your time on and try it.If you like it, keep doing it. If you don’t, find something else you’re passionate about and do it with purpose"……..love it! specially for someone like me who's still unsure about the purpose of my existence on this planet, trying one option at a time is definitely the way to go…
Thanks for sharing 🙂
btw. loved the morning rituals…though trying to get up early these days,I find myself dozing through big parts of the first half…maybe a little running'll help overcome the initial drowsiness….definitely worth trying 🙂
Try sleeping near a window or skylight. I just started that and I'm up everyday at 5am sharp.
Keep trying things out. Don't be afraid to try something and not like it. Very few people know their end all be all purpose right off the bat. And most that claim to are lying. It takes work. Keep it up!
Doing the work. Word up!! Keep it up Gunja…
I was expecting a Lonely Island video at the end of this post 🙂
My biggest issue is trying to differentiate between being busy and hustlin' at the moment. Getting better at it day by day though.
There *was* a lonely island video :). It's in my bio section.
BAWSE!!! No, but this was a good post Joel. We all have the ability to achieve something beyond the norm. We all have a brand, if we take ownership of it (how could you not) and become the BOSS of your brand, amazing things can happen. This is still a work in progress for me but I plan on taking control and hustlin' hard! Make sure you remember the name Aaron Andrews! I'm coming!
"This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name."
There's a rap song for everything =). Keep hustlin' Aaron. Get it.
HAha! No doubt Joel! I'll see you around.
Shinodaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Ok…confession time. If I were to look at my LIFE, I'd be fired. I have the desire and the drive…but I'm falling into old patters of procrasination. I find myself stuck, unclear of what my next step is. I'm awesome when those creative passionate juices kick in, unfortunatly they seem to be lying dormant right now!
Thanks for the inspiration to get off my lazy ass and get back into this game of life. Things can only get better, and I'm going to have a little one on one with myself! xoxo
Dawn, you're awesome. How's that for a confession. -=)
You got it. Step back. Take a breath. Realize what you want to change, then go freakin' do it. 🙂 Good luck Dawn!
Joel…Started already.
I want to laugh…went through and read all the other comments…plenty on the whole waking up thing. Told Jacob that was something I reallly wanted to do, did NOT follow through. Told my girlfriend just today, I think I'll just stop putting pressure on myself to DO something other than just get my ass out of bed.
Plan one is to get up when I wake up, and already have my "mantra" for making something more for me. I feel a little excited…lol ( I know I'm a dork)
Jacob…YOU are my sweet Internet Rock Star!! xoxo
Thnx bro…wanted 2 start of music bt has been indecisive for a while. U js inspired me n I’ll need a lil more encouragement from u. Thank you!