Finishing before You Start
How many times have you quit on something before you let the results come to fruition? You start something, feel good about it for a little bit, put in the work, and then all the sudden you get discouraged, and quit before anything happens. I see it all the time, mainly from myself. That statement is nothing new to me. I feel like I always start things but never finish them. I have these great ideas and visions in my mind, but I never follow through. The reason for quitting being doubt.
I’ve been second guessing myself, a whole lot, especially with this blog. I started this honestly thinking that it was a crazy good, almost revolutionary idea. I think it’s a good idea, don’t get me wrong. But I mean there are so many other writers in the world, so many other people to listen to. And who the fuck am I? What credibility do I have for people to give a fuck about what I have to say?
I was writing a piece the other day and caught myself writing like I’m some type of internet guru who knows all the answers to life. I went back and read through all of my other pieces, and thank God they didn’t sound too corny, otherwise I swear I would’ve deleted this entire website. There are a lot of things in this world that bother me, some more than others. Seeing, reading, hearing, and feeling some corny shit is on the upper echelon of my annoyance list.
“Corny shit” is my broad and wide definition that encapsulates people who are obviously being in-authentic and not true to themselves and who they are. I am not an internet guru. I’m not rich, damn sure not famous, and hardly successful. I’m just a real kid with some dreams and experiences. But even I cringe sometimes listening to other people try to give advice.
“You MUST do this to be a better person”
“This is the only way to do things”
“Follow me because I pretend to know everything”
I don’t want this blog to be that. I want this blog to be a real take of life. Period. Not fake advice or made up stories that are aimed at getting exposure. I want to write about real life, in the rawest form. In my bio, I talk about how writing allows me to speak what’s really on my mind. I feel like maybe I have gone away from that in order to fit in and make my writing more structured. Fuck that. I am going to write how I write.
The Bigger Picture
That rant brings me into the purpose of this piece, of seeing the bigger picture. What does it mean to see the bigger picture? The bigger picture is your vision becoming reality. The bigger picture is achieving everything you want to achieve. And more importantly, the bigger picture is about understanding that the struggles you might be facing now are just temporary. Eventually, with the right amount of work and time (and maybe a little luck), your vision will become a reality. It’s all about believing in yourself and working at it until it comes to fruition.
Pushing Forward
That’s most certainly easier said than done. Especially when you start to encounter setbacks in your way. You run out of money, or ideas, or some hating ass kid making a comment about what you’re doing, and know you feel like you made a mistake. Setbacks come in a lot of forms, and each person goes through different setbacks in life.
It’s easy to quit something. All you have to do is stop doing it. You started making music and your first songs flopped? Just quit. You started a YouTube channel and aren’t getting any views? Just quit. It’s convenient. And that’s why so many people fail to accomplish their goals.
Look, “those days” are inevitable. Not everything you do is going to be a smooth ride to the top. Some things might, but I damn sure know that it’s rare. I don’t know all your specific situations, but I am willing to bet if you are doing something and see no challenges, then you are probably not pushing yourself to your full potential.
You have to push yourself. That’s nothing new, but it’s true. Push yourself on the days when you feel on top of the world. Push yourself when you feel like a complete God-damn failure. It’s hard, but that’s life.
A nice reminder that if you water a seed consistently, even if it’s just a couple of drops, a plant will eventually grow. If you put in consistent work and time, you will see the results you want to see. Think about that.
Believe in You
Self-doubt- a leech that sucks out all the motivation and desire right out of your soul.
I’ve started many things before and quit on them because I thought I couldn’t do it. Or even worse, because I didn’t think my vision or even myself as a person was worth it. That’s some sad shit, isn’t it? Who is anybody, especially myself, the only person who I KNOW has my back, to tell me that I’m not good enough?
Every vision or dream or goal or whatever you want to call it can be done. If you put your mind and heart to it, it will be done. Trust yourself. Doubt is a killer and takes no prisoners. The moment you start to doubt yourself is the moment you lose sight of the bigger picture.
Live Your Vision
Manifesting what you want in life is a great way to combat the doubt. Manifesting what you want in life is about believing in your vision so whole-heartedly, that it’s only a matter of time before you see your vision play out. Even more so, it’s about knowing that you are already living your vision.
If you want to change habits like self-doubt, obsess about what your life will look like after you change. If you want a certain job or a career, obsess about what your life will be like with that job. If you want to make it out in any way, obsess about what your life will look like when you get there. Obsessing leads to action which leads to results. That’s manifesting.
Be different
You aren’t going to get where you want to go by doing what everybody else does. No place represents the rat race more than New York City. Everybody doing the same shit as everybody else, conforming to something (society, family pressures, peer pressure, facades, the list goes on and on). The people that stand out and get what they want in life don’t conform to others. They don’t give a fuck about what anybody thinks about them. They live life how they want to live life.
Understand that being different is not about trying to stand out just to stand out. Just ’cause you have some Off-Whites or a nice car does not make you different; millions of people have those too. There are people out there who make it their only goal to stand out, but they don’t do anything that sets them apart. You can see right through that. It’s about being true to yourself and living by your own means. Authenticity is rare, so when you come across it, you notice. Be yourself, fuck what everybody else does.
What’s the first thing you see?
Strive to Fail
The people that have seen the most success in life are also the ones who have seen the most failure.
Failing is learning. Learning is growing. The more you fail, the more you will learn. And the more you learn, the more you will grow.
Okay, striving to fail might be a bad mindset; you should always go into things with the mindset that you can do it. But you shouldn’t be afraid to fail. Failure is a part of the process, embrace it. Keep pushing, keep failing, keep learning, and keep growing.
And remember, this is your life. If you want it, go get it. Don’t let anybody, not even yourself or your shitty doubts stop you from doing what you want. You got one life. Work hard now and believe that you are on a higher track in life. You gots to see it through, my boy.
Zack I respect the hell out of you for making this blog. As somebody that struggles with the same things, it’s nice knowing that I’m not the only one. Your blog inspires me to do better, be better and to always chase my dreams. Much love man keep up the good work.