Challenges

When is the last time you challenged yourself to do – anything? Try a new craft, a new hobby; a sport, to go back to school and learn a new career?

We have community colleges everywhere teaching all kinds of careers and one of them just might be what you’re looking for. Just imagine if you got a new career and never had to worry about losing your job to corporate takeover or downsizing or the business moving overseas again?

There is a whole world of opportunity waiting for you out there if you just step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself.  Way too many people get in that comfort zone, they get a job that pays enough to cover the bills; they get weekends off – usually, they get periodic raises of 10 to 15 cents per hour; they don’t like the job, but it’s a job and they paying the bills – barely, so they’re content.

What do you want to be, content or happy? There is a big difference, you know?

My daddy once told me that no matter what kind of job I got, “make sure it’s something you love to do because you job will be the most important thing in your life outside your family.

If you don’t love the work you do it will affect your health, your home life and your job. If you don’t love what you do, then you can’t do it well. If you don’t love what you do, you’re wasting your time.

I worked as a security guard in a factory that made computer parts. People who worked there made well over minimum wage. For North Carolina it was great pay. Some people would stay there till way past midnight working. They would work on weekends and on holidays. They made great money, but they had no life. I’d see them come to work every morning with a drab look of their face. When I’d say “good morning” half the time they wouldn’t speak back. They wouldn’t even look at me and acknowledge that I was even there.

They were making enough money to pay their bills and have enough left over to put away for retirement and still have enough left over to go out once or twice a week if they weren’t working all the time.

I remember hearing one guy talk about how he wanted to start his own business, but all he did was talk about it. He never challenged himself to actually try and get it started. That guy died last week. He died without ever knowing if he could have made it in his own business or not. He died with his music still in him

Are you going to be that way? Are you going to die with your music still in you? I hope not. Step outside your comfort zone. Challenge yourself. So many people don’t realize how far they can go until they actually challenge themselves to just get up and do it.