In America, our lives are set up from the beginning to run on auto-pilot. Each person from age 0 to 18 has a very similar record of how they attended school. After high school, the differences start to form between those that go to college and those that do not. At age 26, most people are working a job, paying bills, and trying to stay financially afloat. And maybe this is a good thing because in order to educate the masses you need a mass-replicatable system. The issue with the system is that it stifles imagination and creativity. Many peoples’ dreams are crushed because the things they love doing don’t earn any income. In 2021, it is more than possible to earn money doing what you love and on your own terms. You may not be able to quit your dayjob at first, but there is a path to expressing your creativity. I want to first explain how we are put into auto-pilot and then I will discuss how we can break free and become drivers on our own road of life.
School. School is where we are first taught to “have the right answer”. If you do not have the right answer you are wrong. You are taught not to make mistakes. Mistakes are bad. This is where we develop our fear of trying new things. As we get older, build more knowledge and confidence, and actually have lots of experience, we are still fearful of expressing ourselves. We feel that we could be successful YouTubers and bloggers but we have the limiting beliefs of “I am not good enough”, “why would anyone listen to me”, and “those people are better”.
Work. 20 years again most jobs had a very linear track to becoming successfully promoted. You would do exactly what was laid out on the path and climb the corporate ladder. Trust me, I know because I climbed the ladder is the Marine Corps. Nowadays, most jobs don’t even have a ladder inside the corporation. Millennials have to jump for job to job, company to company, in order to even attempt to climb a ladder. How can you be creative when you don’t even have job security?
Finances. As we work, our finances are put into auto-pilot. Our taxes are removed for us. We think that putting our money into 401k type plans is investing (it’s saving). We are learning very little financial education. When we do have money after the taxes, 401k, liabilities, and expenses, we are so happy that we buy tons of consumer goods. But who can blame us? These are some of the only real choices that we can make for ourselves.
Relationships. We are not taught anything about relationships; wether that is between a spouse, child, grandchild, or a friend. We do the best that we can, but since these are the only choices that we can make, sadly we choice to end a lot of these relationships. For those on auto-pilot, it is empowering to have this control.
I know that I painted a very bleak picture of the American dream. For many Americans this is good enough. They can work for 65 years, see their kids and grandkids once a year, and are happy to get social security and use a 401k to “survive”. And that is actually someone who did well in the world. But you may be different. I assume that you feel a certain way already and that is why you are reading this article. How do we free ourselves from the reigns of auto-pilot? We can release ourselves from auto-pilot by compounding. We have all heard of the magic of compound interest correct? Well it works in real life as well. There is an amazing book on this called “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy (here). Here are some examples.
Compounding Good Habits. We can compound good habits in order to build up our health, fitness, and positive routines. Warning, bad habits are compounded as well. Getting into positive daily routines are the first step to self-awareness. This helps our brain disassociate from our linear lifestyle. This is us fighting back against the auto-pilot. We will not allow the linear lifestyle to destroy our motivation and expectations. We are bigger and better than the system.
Compounding Success Education. Now that we are eating healthy, watching our weight, and implementing a fitness routine, it is time to start our self-improvement. Our brains are our biggest assets and they need to be constantly fed new positive information. The first step is to turn off the news, Netflix, and videogames. We can do these things in moderation, but most of the time very little is gained from these activities. Next is reading about self-improvement and financial education. I know this sounds like a lot but we do it by compounding, not all at once. We can start by reading a chapter or 15 minutes a day. Trust me, I created my own routine and before I knew it, I looked forward to reading and writing more than watching tv. Here are some of the books I read on my journey to becoming a driver (here).
Compounding actions. Reading is a starting action, not a final action. This means that by reading, you are expanding your mindset and knowledge. But then you have to perform an action. Whether that is evaluating real estate, reading stock market blogs and slowly getting into investing, or starting a small business, the action is what others will see. Actions compound as well. Once you achieve some goals, others will start to fall inline faster than you could have imagined. Actions are the end results of all of your compounding efforts. Your relationships will improve, bank accounts larger, you will obtain more assets, and your job will become a small part of your overall life outlook. You are now driving.
You will also notice that other people will start to limit you. Don’t worry, this means you are on the right track. You are a mirror into their own limiting beliefs. You took control of the steering wheel of your life and can now turn left, turn right, or go straight. You are in charge. If it sounds like it is hard, it truly isn’t. You just have to want it bad enough. I am a Marine of 22 years service. I wasn’t just on auto-pilot, I was a robo-taxi. Everything in my career was planned from the day I entered boot camp. But now I am attending business seminars, blogging, running a Facebook group, writing books, managing 3 rental properties, and dividend-investing in the stock market. I just started this journey, along with my wife, in June 2019. So, I am only 1.5 years into it. I removed myself from auto-pilot and started driving, and I have never been happier. My job is now a small part of the outlook in my life. I have complete control of my time and finances, and my relationships have never been better. In 5-8 years, I will retire and be financially independent. I will never work for anyone ever again. I now live a life of abundance. I will pass this education to my children so they can achieve similar results in their 20s, not 40s. All it takes is picking up a book and exploring your options. Trust me, it is amazing to be the driver.
Get Your Free eBook:
Follow us on our Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/kingmarine1775
Join our Facebook group at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/231490384820780
Follow us on Pinterest at:
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Leave a Reply