• I couldn’t get out of bed. • I was scared to go to sleep because of the nightmares I would have at 3 in the morning • I smashed a coconut in the middle of the street because a psychic told me it would solve all of my problems. It didn’t. • I got divorced. • I lost my home. • I lost not just a little bit of money but millions of dollars in cash, down to zero. • At least 1/2 of my family stopped talking to me. • I went dead-broke.
Maybe you can call all of this failure. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with you.
But if you did call it failure, what does it even mean? Does that mean you should kill yourself? I tried that also. I failed at that.
And every thought we’ve ever had, every ‘smart’ decision we’ve ever made, has gotten us to this point where we think we’ve failed, we’re we’ve become lost in the maze of mirrors with no-directions out.
But you know the directions.
Do the opposite. Reverse. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, get 1% better every day.
And at the end of the day you can look back and say, ‘Who did I help today?’
If you have an answer, (even if it’s ‘just myself’) then you are a success. Good job.
(complete) Answer by James Altucher:
One time I was so depressed I did the following:
– I couldn’t get out of bed.
– I was scared to go to sleep because of the nightmares I would have at 3 in the morning
– I smashed a coconut in the middle of the street because a psychic told me it would solve all of my problems. It didn’t.
– I got divorced.
– I lost my home.
– I lost not just a little bit of money but millions of dollars in cash, down to zero.
– At least half of my family stopped talking to me.
– I went dead broke.Here’s what was happening in my life at the time.
Physically – I was getting sick all the time. I wasn’t sleeping. I wasn’t eating well.
Emotionally – I was spending time with people who were always bringing me down. No matter which direction I looked, which direction I ran, which hand I held out to avoid falling into the abyss while saying, “please help me!” nobody with love was willing to pull me up.
I simply had made the wrong decisions about people.
I was reaching out to people who didn’t care. People didn’t love me.
Mentally – I shut off my creativity. A therapist asked me, “What can I do to help?” and my only answer was, “the only thing that will help is a check for a million dollars”.
I turned off the spigot of ideas that had been the only thing that had ever made me money in the past.
We live in an Idea Economy.
We can outsource Industry. We can even outsource Knowledge (I have at least ten “knowledge” projects (software, translation, design, etc) that I am outsourcing right now.
But we can’t outsource our own innovation and creativity and ideas.
Spiritually – I was constantly seething in my regrets and anxieties. I was time traveling, living in a past I wanted to change, or a future I was scared to death of. Instead of focusing on the things that were important right now.
An easy fix. Instead of saying, “I have to—” and being afraid or anxious about the answer, say, “I get to ____” and fill in the blank.
Maybe you can call all of the above failure. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with you.
You’re a miserable failure.
But if you did call it failure, what does it even mean? Does that mean you should kill yourself? I tried that also. I failed at that.
We’ve been put in this circus without instructions and with blinders on.
And every thought we’ve ever had, every “smart” decision we’ve ever made, has gotten us to this point where we think we’ve failed, we’re we’ve become lost in the maze of mirrors with no directions out.
But you know the directions.
Do the opposite. Reverse. Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, get 1% better every day.
If you ask, “But what can I do to stop my negativity right now?” then I will slap you. Just do the above.
You will become a leader of success. You will become a beacon when other lights have gone dark.
But first you have to lead yourself. Words, thoughts, complaints, blaming, regrets, anxieties, fears, thoughts of failure, won’t turn you into a leader.
Everything you’ve ever done in the past won’t turn you into a leader.
All you have to ever think about, every moment, is “what can I do to improve right now physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.”
Never question failure again. Just do the above.
And at the end of the day you can look back and say, “Who did I help today?”
If you have an answer, (even if it’s ‘just myself’) then you are a success. Good job.
Akira Morikawa 