On May 11th of this year, I will recieve my degree in Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. But I have a dirty little secret to tell you; I don’t have a job, nor do I have a job lined up. And I’m not sweating it. I have learned a secret that has changed the way I see my future, and you can learn the same secret to help you obtain yours.
In fact, I am writing these words as a direct result of appying this principle to my life. It is a simple process which anyone can learn with a little practice, and it will help you overcome the number one thing that holds you back; fear. I have learned to overcome my fear.
I know what you’re thinking. That’s no big deal. People overcome their fears all the time. Some people who have been afraid of heights end up jumping out of an airplane. Thousands of kids every year overcome their fear of the bully in their lives. But the fear I have overcome is a different kind of fear, the fear of financial failure. That’s the thing adults really fear.
If anyone should fear poverty, it should be me. I grew up in southern Ohio, about 45 minutes from West Virginia, one of the poorest areas in the nation. When I was a child, my parents invested in training a colt to harness race, and lost everything. Even though I was only five years old, I can still remember the people coming to our house and taking our furniture. If anyone should fear being poor, I should.
But I don’t, and I want to tell you why. Monopoly. What I learned from monopoly, along with my own experiences, has taught me not to fear. So let me share with you some of those principles that keep me fear free when it comes to my career and finances.
First of all, I know that losing is only temporary. I can play again tomorrow. And if I play again tomorrow, I can play again the day after. That’s how we do it in the real world-we get up and go to work again tomorrow, or next week. Some of us are broke as we head to work to play the game another day, and some are millionaires. Nevertheless, we all get up and play again. Keep that in mind.
Besides, work is a lot like baseball; you’ll ground out far more often than you’ll hit home runs, no matter how good you are. It’s like saving your money to buy Park Place on the Monopoly board. You might get your chance, but by the time you land on it, everyone else has been buying up all the other properties. Spread your investments out, and don’t rely on just one thing.
Don’t worry about the home runs or landing on Park Place, give yourself more options. You will increase your chances of succeeding, because the more at-bats you get, the more likely you are to get a hit. Right now, I am writing this for Helium, I have a blog on Blogger.com, I am thinking about starting a web zine, talking to someone about making a documentary, and if that isn’t enough, I am looking for a regular job, too. By not limiting myself to just one avenue, I am getting that many more chances to hit the ball. The odds are in my favor; sooner or later I’ll make contact.
Which brings me to the last principle, keep looking for an at-bat. Ever notice that it is very rare in Monopoly to get all three properties of a particular color if you have more than two players? Do you just give up? No, you look to make a trade-I’ll give you this property for that one. Truth is, I didn’t know about Helium yesterday. I just happened to get and adsense ad for Helium on my blog. But I am still looking for opportunities to succeed, instead of thinking up reasons I can’t. And tomorrow, I will continue the search. That way, if something does fall through I don’t have to worry about what’s next, because I am already working on what’s next.
So what if you buy an investment property and it doesn’t turn a profit? You should already have another couple of properties in mind to invest in. That way, you can sell the one and switch to another. The worst mistake my parents made after they went bankrupt was simply not trying again. They chose to play it safe-and reamained poor for the rest of their lives. Playing a turn ahead is the best way to avoid getting stuck.
Well there you have it, my principles for playing the game of investments and career. But for now, it’s time to roll the dice again. Good luck.