The Villain Within
DOING WHAT THEY DO As children we’re taught to stand in line and do what ev- erybody else does. We’re taught to get good grades, follow the crowds, do what’s popular at the time, go to high school, get into a college, then find a job, start a 401(k), save our money, and hopefully retire with enough to get us to death without running out. We’re taught to paint inside the lines because when we step outside the lines, everybody looks at us funny. Given this conventional path, let me ask you a question: In high school or college did you have a passion or a dream of what you wanted your life to look like? If you’re like most people, you graduated and threw your cap in the air and thought the world was going to be yours. Here is the craziest part about this scenario: In so many cases, if you followed your passions and they didn’t align with friends’, society’s, or your parents’ vision for you, then people would put their arm around you and say, “Hey, isn’t it time to grow up? Isn’t it time to get responsible?” We’ve somehow cre- ated this world where we think being responsible is doing what everybody else does, and we force ourselves into something that makes everybody else happy but doesn’t feed our soul. Parents and friends don’t mean to hurt you; they think they are protecting you. No doubt, they have a lot of influence and can cause you to do what’s conventional or expected. When you give up on your dream and settle for less, these influential indi- viduals will express their pride in your grown-up attitude. Really? I’m forsaking my dreams and becoming an unhap- py conformist and you’re happy for me! As crazy as it sounds, it happens every day, and maybe it has happened to you. I don’t mean this disrespectfully in any way. But so many of you took a job years ago as just a “temporary” thing. And now you’re just coasting through life stuck in your routine. And if that were satisfactory, you wouldn’t be seeking more. That’s okay, though, because no matter what your story was, you’re reading this book right now. You’re here at this moment for a reason, and hopefully, this sparks something in you regardless
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