I sat in my cubicle at age 27, and
realized I had 40 more years of the same situation occurring every day
until I could retire. 40 more years of allergy inducing padded walls
and fluorescent bulbs casting off headache inducing green light. 40
more years of ever expanding office ass and scavenging for second hand
meeting food to make the time go by.
And I realized I didn't want to waste my life like this.
A couple weeks later the chance to
start a coffee company appeared out of nowhere.
Chances are all around you. You just
have to keep your eyes open for them. Most people keep their head down
and hope to make it through the day. And while all of us fall into a
rut at times, real changes in your life will occur when you're willing
to throw off the security blanket you've wrapped around yourself.
The same goes for luck. Luck takes a lot of hard work. Most times you have to make your own. Sometimes the cosmos aligns in just the right way that allows you to have everything you want in the world without lifting a finger (see Hilton, Paris). Lets be honest though, we never respect a person who hasn't suffered in some way for their success. Luck comes from seeing the small chances that appear from time to time, and by being willing to grab for them when you see it.
Try to learn from other people's failures so you don't have to.
Never trust a person who says they've
never failed. They're either full of shit or don't try hard enough.
Stop asking for approval and start
doing. it's easier to apologize than it is to get someone to say yes.
Your reputation is all you have. Whether it's your credit report, handshake, or word, you'll be hard pressed to get it back once it's gone.
If you're ever depressed, NEVER play
"August and Everything After" from Counting Crows.
Lastly, People love gossip. People
also love giving advice. Take both with a grain of salt. The people
giving it are just as lost as you are.
Andrew Kessler is a founding partner
of The Freaky Bean Coffee Company.
