Career advice

[Julius_Seizeher]

Gents, I am 27 years old, about to be 28, and I am standing at an impasse.

For 7 years, my dream was to be a financial advisor. It first came to me when I was in the Marines, and stayed with me through college. When I initially couldn't get hired as a FA, I went into sales and did that for a couple years. I've learned alot about business, people, and life as a salesman and I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything, although I have known poverty and great adversity in my journey. All those years, I held my dream before me, at times strong and others nearly forgotten. Last year, I met a guy who was getting hired as a manager with a large firm, we made friends, and I got hired. I was in! "I have arrived!", I thought to myself.

Since that time, my life has been one of constant pain and growth. This job has made me hard. I have been nearly in poverty since I came into this job, and everyday is a herculean struggle to make ends meet. It requires great intestinal fortitude to go to work day after day and keep a positive attitude when you aren't making any money. I have absorbed the teachings of all the great prophets of success and mental game: Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, the list goes on and on. I have created a mindset of strength, faith, and perseverance. I believe that one may achieve anything he can conceive, I have seen tantalizing evidence of it in my own life, but it still eludes me.

And all the while, the clock is ticking.

Everyday is hell for me. Basically, I call business owners in the morning, visit business in the afternoon, and cold call people at home in the evening. But what I'm really doing is beating my head against a wall, trying to convince people twice my age to trust me with their retirement and investments. Rejection is my NAME. And it SUCKS. Perhaps once a day, I'll get someone to set an appointment, but EVERY APPT. I'VE SET has been a complete waste of time. Of the maybe 20% who show up, they either don't have any money or think I'm too young to be doing what I'm doing, and they don't trust me.

While I treasure the personal growth this experience has afforded me, at what point do you throw in the towel and go do something else? If I already had a big pile of money, and could afford to not make anything for a couple more years, I'd be a possum eating peach seeds. See, my quandry is that I believe in persistence, I believe in toughing it out, but GDit, I'm killing myself for NOTHING! Nothing financial, anyway.

And this journey has been full of unexpected twists too. I saw myself sitting down with people and helping them chart a financial destiny. But this industry puts you in such a regulatory straightjacket that you have to water down anything you say to a client, choose your words so carefully that you end up saying nothing at all. What I'm saying is, I had a dream, but now that I'm almost there, it's nothing like I thought it would be, and I don't want it anymore. Am I rationalizing cowardice? Every indicator in the rational world is telling me GO DO SOMETHING ELSE. But am I quitter if I do so? What happens when you realize you had the wrong dream?

I want to take my knowledge and put it to use with my own money. I love the investment world, but I hate working on the brokerage side, so I want to dedicate myself to investing in stocks. I know I can make money there, and I won't have to kill myself trying to get someone else to do business with me. My risk, my reward.

So my question is, do you think I am being a coward? Or do you see it as I want to see it, that I am removing myself from a professional beartrap I stepped in? Do you see me as "giving up on my dream"? I have invested SO MUCH of myself into this career, I wanted it SO BAD. But here in the real world, I'm fvcking MISERABLE every day and I'm not making any money, so do you think I am wise to head for greener pastures?

This experience has taxed me to my utmost. I have become an infinitely stronger man for having endured it. But I'm sick of enduring this fruitless enterprise, I'm ready for what I ultimately desire, and that is SUCCESS. I'm just having trouble trusting my judgment right now, and I welcome your thoughts.

 

[sodbuster]

Tough time to be in the biz.Probably will be for a while longer. Been where you are[starting my dental office]. When I got a 1 day a week job doing tribal dentistry[enough to pay my meager living expenses],it started to turn for the better. Took about 6 or 7 years to get semi-comfortable. NOW after 25 years,doing pretty well.
Maybe get a parttime job to take off some of the pressure. Just like with women,clients can sense when you are desperate. When you can talk to them and truely not give a ****,your sales will go up.

everyone has the picture of the small business man as the king of the jungle,proudly marching through HIS jungle[never seeing the hunter that shoots him]. Actually,he's a rabbit,nervous about everything that can go wrong,ready to move at the slightest hint of danger[see's the hunter and runs like he11]. So, I'd call most of what you are going through "normal".

Now, I can't make the job decision for you. I DON'T know the future or your whole situation. But I've been there.

 

[Oxide]

Start here and thank me later.


http://www.thefastlanetomillions.co...-have-successful-entrepreneurial-premise.html

 

[brian123]

Marines bro. That is my dream. Congrats.

You are not being a coward. I would set up some meetings (they can be quite informal, like over a drink) with people who are

A) Experienced in the field
B) Who are where you want to be.


Get their input.

 

[WaterTiger]

Marines can't be cowards, it's genetically impossible. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's in the song somewhere. So get that out of your head right now.

Being a "stick-with-it" kind of man is one thing, trying to poke a hole in a brick wall with a plastic knife is another.

The economy sucks right now and hiding your cash in the mattress sounds like a better plan than giving it it to Warren Buffet.

You want to play the stock market? DO IT! You want to try some Internet idea that pays you back, DO IT! (Want to be a boytoy/bodyguard to some rich, older woman, go for it!)

You're young, you can recover form any silly mistakes you make. The economy will eventually turn around and FA's will be needed. You can come back with a vengeance & more ideas to make money...because you personally explored them!

 

[hansol]

I was told once that you can do whatever the hell you want, as long as you meet your obligations.

See, a man has to pay a mortage/rent, insurance, the heating and water bill, fuel, food, etc. And as long as you can meet those obligations, you are free to do whatever the hell you want.

You paid your dues with your service to your country. Now you can do as you wish. The only thing a guy can do is try to keep going "up", without sliding back too much. If you figure switching it up will help you reach whatever it is you're wanting out of life, then that may be a decent choice.

 

[Mr.Positive]

Julius,

All you've got to do, is be honest with yourself...find out where you want to go in life, and how to get there.

A job is just a tool, to 'get there'. If this tool, starts taking from your life, instead of adding to it...you guessed it, find another tool.

It's not being a coward to make changes, that benefit your life. Life is like investments, it's opportunity costs. You can't invest, in everything. You have to choose.

Right now, if you aren't happy with your direction, make a change! You can always change back, if you like.

Plot a course, but be flexible, to change it, if needed. Weather changes.

 

[Trader]

I have absorbed the teachings of all the great prophets of success and mental game: Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, the list goes on and on. I have created a mindset of strength, faith, and perseverance. I believe that one may achieve anything he can conceive, I have seen tantalizing evidence of it in my own life, but it still eludes me.

It's NOT true that one may achieve anything he can conceive. You can have all the perseverance, determination, faith, and hard-work in the world, but you will only achieve your goal IF God gives you the opportunity to do so.

Burn 'Think and Grow Rich' and crack open the Bible, that is what you need if you want to understand the true principles of success. Read proverbs, read all the stories of the Old Testament and Jesus' parables.

And all the while, the clock is ticking.

Yes, you are one step closer to death. Your time is running out. God has a plan for you, a plan to best utilize your talents.

Everyday is hell for me. Basically, I call business owners in the morning, visit business in the afternoon, and cold call people at home in the evening. But what I'm really doing is beating my head against a wall, trying to convince people twice my age to trust me with their retirement and investments. Rejection is my NAME. And it SUCKS.

Of course you are getting nowhere, you are just spinning your wheels, cause your life has absolutely no direction.


This is life without God.

Get back on the right track.

 

[synergy1]

Burn 'Think and Grow Rich'

I obviously don't agree with the bible bit, but do agree with this bit. These types of books provide some motivation for what you want to hear, thats about it. Sorry to say it, but you can't imagine success, you have to work for it and hope the bounces go your way. Its not to say hard work doesn't play a role as anyone can dig back a few posts of mine and see that I put in my time as well.

In regards to the financial market, lets just say there isn't a whole lot of trust out there. Wall street has gotten us to the point where we are aware of the bull **** that people peddle so firms can make a buck. What makes you think you can get better returns on investment than me? I have read enough to know that anyone who claims just this is lying; no one can predict the markets. I have had to deal enough with sales people in my field to know most of them are saying what I want to hear, and I can't imagine the brokerage field being any different. What exactly do you want to do in finance? portfolio management? estate management? ( I hear this is where its at) Do you think you can vault up to a better position doing what you are doing now?

Anyway you seem motivated and smart, so there is no doubt that these little bumps will do nothing but get you in the right direction. Maybe finance isn't where its at, maybe you can make the jump! Still plenty of time to make things good, but now is the time to change if you are truly in a dead end position.

 

[backbreaker]

if you think that think and grow rich is a motiivvational rah rah book, I doubt you have seriously read think and grow rich.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Truett_Cathy
(Founder of Chik Fil A)

He has written four books: the autobiography Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People, a motivational book entitled It's Easier to Succeed Than to Fail, the parenting book It's Easier to Build Boys Than Mend Men, and an explanation of his business success in How Did You Do It, Truett?. He also contributed to the anthology Conversations on Success and co-wrote with Ken Blanchard Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure. There is a portion of Jonesboro Rd and McDonough Rd in Henry County,Georgia and Clayton County,Georgia named in his honor. Cathy has said that the motivational book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill was one of the greatest foundations for inspiration growing up.

guy never stepped foot in a college and he doesn't own a store that is open on a sunday and is a billionaire.

Think and grow rich is based off the same principles and is written by the same person as who wrote what I think is one of the best books ever written, the laws of success, and there is nothing rah rah about a 1400 page book. I re read it every year and I learn/pick up something. you could do much much worse than mastering this book.


Not reading... mastering. it's not a motivational book it's a set of principles. It's retooling the way you think about success.


I truely believe that a person can do whatever they set their mind to. I've achieved alot of what i wanted to but not wtihout some bumps, some bruises, a few strained relationships on the way. hell look at my ****ed up family thrad, had i just did what my parents wanted me to do when i was younger we probably would not have went down the path we went with our relationship.

There is a difference between DEFEAT and FAILURE. you only are a failure when you have conceited permiment defeat.

There is a story in the laws of success in the chapter 14 about failure where napolean hill tells you about his personal journey to 1. learn what his goals was as he really didn't have any starting out and 2. all the bumps and bruises and life lessons he learned along the way.

Long story short, it took him 2 decades and 7 rises and falls, being falsely incarcerated, going bankrupt more than once, and more before all the lessons that he was to learn were finally in front of him.

You know we live in a very pussifed, instant gratification society. We are a nation/world of results and results now. no one wants to work for anyting anymore.

We get hyped up about something, we put in 2-3 years towards something and if we dont' start seeing the diamonds and cars, or at least start to really, really, really see some progress towards it we quit. Most people dont' fail becuase they aren't good enough, they fail becuase they quite too prematurely.


What ever your dreams are, don't sale your self short and quit before you realize them.

So the **** what it takes you some years, hell even decades to realize what you want to come to light. What are you really afraid of?


I follow horse racing passionately as many know.. One of my favorite trainers is a guy by the name of Barclay Tagg. Some of you might know of him. Anyway his story is truely amazing. He's in his 70's.

This is a man who sat out to be a world class trainer when he was in his 20's.. about my age.

This man toiled around in the pits of horse racing ad no name bush league tracks like penn national and charles town (before slots).. het ook some bumps and bruises and after 20 years, he was still at these same tracks applying his trade.

Becuase he trained here, every once in a while he would get a really nice horse and becuase he was "the trainer from charles town" the horse would be taken away from him and given to a big name trainer. he had a horse in the late 80's named Roo Art that was absolutely tearing up the mid atlantic.. all mr taggs doing.. the owners then took the horse away from him and gave him to D Wayne Lukas (the horse did not win another race)


Did he quite because things were unfair or becuase they were taking too long? nope. The man is college educated, eh could have gotten a decent job somewhere. This was his life calling and damnit he was going to make it work, no matter how long it took.

This was in the late 80's.. lol, not the 90's.

another decade passes almost another 2 decades.

he meets this group of owners who are trying to get in the game and they come to him and ask him to point out a nice 2yO in training and they will give him the money to buy him and train him.

he had saw this distorted humor colt training at a 2002 sale tha he had his eye on but could not buy him becuase he did not have the money.

So he goes to the farm and buys the horse for 75k and a few months later they start racing. he wins his maiden race at belmont park. He's a new york bred 2YO so he gets to run in restricted races and he is tearing up the compition to peices.

late in the year, his 2 year old year he turns in a scintillating performance and earns the highest beyer speed for any 2yo anywhere in the country, I think a 105. that's high , very high for a 2YO. But the naysayers were still out.. who the **** is barcley tagg and this horse isn't beating anyone.

So Tagg decides to take his one man show on the road. Tagg new he had a good one.. a really good one. this is what he had built his life up for. a horse like this and hew as going to make good on it.

the horse went down to gulfstream in janurary and lost.. came in i think 5th. 5th or 3rd. it was an odd number i know that.

then he goes to the louisiana derby and comes in 3rd, losing to another more hyped up horse peace rules who was trained by bobby frankel one of the best trainers in the world (who also has a very interesting story). Then he goes back to aqueduct and runs the wood memorial and actually ran his eyeballs out, and still lost to a horse named empire maker.. but only by about a half length. Still, no one really seriously gave the horse a shot in the derby, which he had now earned enough money to to be included in.


That first saturday in may, the no name trainer from the mid atlantic, who more times than not was running horses in 3k races just to pay his bills and to keep his lights on, won the kentucky derby with a horse named funny cide.

it took him more than 30 years for him to reach his goal.. but he had finally reached it. Barley Tagg had arrived and he wasn't going anywhere, and is not to this day consiered to be one of the top horseman in north america if not the world.

not only did tagg win that race with him, he went on to win the Preakness and if not for a sloppy track at the belmont, funny cide did not like slop,k he very well would have won the triple crown. Also to show how good a horseman he was, most horses that win the derby are usually not the same as 4-5 year olds. Funny cide won a grade 1 race when he was 4 and was still very competitive when he was 5 although by then he had ovbiously lost a step or 2.


what if he would have packed it in after a few years after not making it? since then he has trained horses like nobiz like shobiz, showing up, big truck and tale of ekati.. all of which he has taken to the kentuckky derby SINCE funny cide won the derby. To make it more astounding, lol, nobiz like shobiz and showing up are turf horses lol. showing up is one of the best turf milers of the last decade.

he bidded his time and made the most of it. instead of getting down and depressed and giving up he pressed and kept trying. it took him 30 years to become the type of horseman it would take to win a race like the kentucky derby and when he got him.. that was the first time he ever ran in the kentucky derby, he won.. he is the first trainer since 1985 to win the Kentucky derby in his first try.


There is a poem I posted in the AE forum. On your path to get where you want, to get where you really want, there are tests that nature makes you pass. nothing in life is given out, everything is earned, and the more you wish to have the more earning you have to do. The vast majority of failures can be directly traced to people not wanting to put in the time to seek the rewards that they want to achieve, even myself every "failure" i can point to in my life, I easily see it was a direct result that I didn't want it enough to give up what was needed to give up at the time.
there is nothing wrong with that.. for instance I wanted to play college basketball.. i was a very good basketball player (still am) but i wasn't a college level player becuase i was not willing to put in the time it took to become a college player. I was too small and needed to hit the weights and I didn't want to do that at the time. I was a decent shooter but not good enough to earn a scholly for my shooting ability. Also when I sat down and thought about it, it was more of my dad's dream than mine, he played college ball and I was his oldest son. Also his sister had already produced a D1 athlete and I think in some sick kinda way he thought he wasn't doing what he was supposed to do because i wasn't that good yet. when i sat down and thought bout it.. i

it would have been nice, but being "nice" is not enough for me to warrant all the sacrificed would have had to make to make that dream happen.

for mr. tagg.. all those things WERE worth it to him.

 

[backbreaker]

i'll add.. business/success in business, whatever you want to do is like dating.

everyone here has found this site because they were not successful with the opposite sex, i think i will go out on the limb and say that.

it's the same principle at work, yet somehow it's so much more drastic and mistiqe when we apply this same principle outside of personal relationships with the opposite sex

you were not successful with women. lol,k you didn't quit trying do date women of the opposite sex because you did not have early success (i hope not at least).

you let the pain soak in, you dealt with it, you figured out what you did wrong, and you were a stronger, wiser, more prepared individual


i'll even go so far as to say in most cases, those are lessons you had to learn. I know it was in my case. I had to go through the things i went through with the opposite sex to get where i am now. it hurt. alot. but quitting trying to date never is a viable option because of the need to find sex/fvck women. the desire to succeed (sex) is too strong to take the idea of quitting trying to date altogether seriously.

the few few times a person goes bankrupt in business or a person hits a road block they run back to home or whoever and that person tells them to find an easier softer way, simply becuase there is an easier softer path in life.

in fact i will go so far as to say this is somewhat AFCish .. AFC's after a long time of facing rejection, instead of using the rejections to better themselves or to learn form them, they alter their expectations /standards.

how is this any different than the guy who has tried to do something for 3 years, and he isn't successful yet, and then goes and tries to alter what to expect from life just because he hasn't hit his goals yet?

It's alot easier/softer to say ****, go get a "normal" job, with "normal" responsibilities, rent an apartment, drive a used car and go out on weekends like everyone else. you might even get laid from time to time.

the more unsuccessful you are the more attractive that option becomes.

 

[backbreaker]

****.
i wrote a pretty long post that the forum deleted after i tried to post as it unlogged me in.. anyway i will rewrite if if you want.. basically i'm your age, and i also own a business in which i am expecting older people to hand me money. yes i lose business too becuase of my race and my age.


it's pretty clear to me reading your post you have not really read the laws of success and to that extension thank in grow rich, becuase alot of what you are saying is a straight contradiction to the principles found in the books. you have not yet seemed to grasp the concept of failure, you still are equating money with success, and you are looking for instant gratification. Your story is alot like napolean hills.. remember he talks about how he became a auto consultant for compaines across the country and how things were going great, only to have world war 1 break out and to put his business to a holt at the time, then when he wrote and published the hill's golden rule maginze which he expected to be highly successful as he was being paid by newspapers across the country to have his weekly articles syndicated, the great depression hit and alot of the deals he had set up went south. absolutly nothing he did wrong but have bad timing on both parts. in fact he failed 7 times.. 7.. before he became the napolean hill that we all know.


if you dont' want to do what you say you want to do, then don't do it. but from what i am reading you really having your feet put to the fire for the first time and damnit you don't like it. all your friends hav emoney, they go out, they have nice ****.. damnit i want nice **** too.


There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. But omitted, and the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves -- or lose the ventures before usyou can take the easy way and and know deep down that you did not give it your all, or youc an bust your ass and give it your all. the success is not the end result it's the jounry that you are currently embarking on, and all the priceless life lessons you are learing.

Right now you are in the middle of your "full sea". Do not get off board before your flood leads you to a fortune my friend. You are never going to be 27, childless and wifeless again. Get it while you can.


it sucks. i've been there.. i know what you are going though. lol, god do i know what you are going through. and i'm telling you that if you really want to achieve what you want it's worth it. sometimes going days without a real meal while working sometimes 15-17 hours a day..been there. not having any clean clothes and not having money to buy laundry detergent or to get your clothes cleaned? yep. not having a damn bed for over a year and having to sleep on the carpet? um hum. no social life to speak off for years. check. It ****ing sucks. I had some things happen to me that had i really wanted to quit no one would have blamed me.. expect me. one time we had saved up 10 grand through i don't know how.. through self sacrifice, going without..even food at times, as we were going to use the money for one big marketing campsign (which in hindsight would have worked as we did the exact same thing a year and a half later) only to have a "venture capital" company come and basically swindle us from our money. all that hard work for nothing. it ****ing sucks. it ****ing sucks, it ****ing sucks thinkinga bout it still i'm so pissed off over that, you can imagine how much it sucks saying that while not having food in the frig.

That's why they are called trials and tribulations. No one wants to go through them and it's worth it in the end. you are being molded into the man that nature needs you to be, so that you can achieve what you want to achieve. the process of being molded into a diamond ain't pretty my friend.

 

[Julius_Seizeher]

I've never read The Law of Success, I've never seen it in a store and I've never gotten around to ordering it. I will. But I've read Think and Grow Rich several times. It's effect upon my mind is unrivaled by any other book. I "thought myself" into the partnership that yielded this job, and believe me, my faith is the only thing that's kept me going.

What I have learned, is that what you want is irrelevant. What you DO is everything. If my desire was to be a financial advisor, but upon getting there, learned that the market doesn't need another FA right now, then the only reason I would stay is if it was my CONSUMING DESIRE to be a FA. My consuming desire is to be wealthy; I admit that my desire to be a FA may have been mainly based in egotism and vanity. I love to put on a $600 suit everyday and look important, but looking important doesn't put money in my pocket. In this business, my income is predicated by the number of appointments I can make, but it is DECIDED by the number of people who decide to do business with me. Positive thinking got me into this career, but it is OTHERS who decide how successful I am going to be. I can't put a gun to their head and force them to handover their 401K or bond portfolio.

And I am NOT good at kissing ass, nor would I want to be.

Backbreaker, I appreciate your input. But I think you think that I am giving up on my desire to be phenomenally successful. I do see the limited responsibility/used car/apartment/get drunk every weekend people you talk about, and have NO desire to take that easy path. The people I call friends are like this, so I have distanced myself greatly.

I simply believe the means I am currently using to achieve success are wrong. I believe that we can convert our stumbling blocks into stepping stones, and I will do that by using what I have learned about investing to hit the ground running as a professional investor. I am not sitting around crying about this; I have tried, I have suffered, I have persevered, I have grown in this job, but these things are NOT ENOUGH by themselves.

Don't go thinking I'm a tulip either; I grew up on a farm and served in the Marine Corps.

 

[backbreaker]

If you have never read the laws of success, put off making a decision until you read it.

I think your head is on right.'


wow.. i'm glad i researched this.. i am extremely lucky. you can't even find the complete laws of success in one book anymore, i have a 1400 page purple book., then again i've had this for about 10 years now lol. now they have the 400 page pussifed cliff notes version or the broken up version. i will post all of them here because it's important you read ALL of them

http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-Principles-Self-Mastery-Vol/dp/9562912582/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272250586&sr=1-8


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-II-Principles-Personal/dp/1580632246/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-Vol-Principles-Self-Creation/dp/1932429018/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-Vol-Principles-Integrity/dp/1932429026/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-IV-Initiative-Leadership/dp/9562913457/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272250669&sr=1-3


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-VII-Imagination-Enthusiasm/dp/9562912027/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272250713&sr=1-3


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-VIII-IX-Napoleon/dp/9562912035/ref=pd_sim_b_2


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-XI-Pleasing-Personality/dp/9562912116/ref=pd_sim_b_5


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-XII-XIII-Concentration/dp/9562912086/ref=pd_sim_b_2


http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-XIV-XVI-Tolerance/dp/9562912094/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b


Here is a customer review.. i could not have stated it any better

What makes this book so important is not the amount of money people make after reading it. The depth of your soul's growth can never be measured. One dark night, I found Think and Grow Rich in the desk drawer of a man who had just retired and left the book there. I'll never be the same. Reading Law of Success gives the background and foundation of what Napoleon Hill went through, interviewing successful people for 20 years without any financial backing and the struggle that became worth it to him.
You'll love reading this book. It will change the way you see your world, if you're willing to open your heart to it.
Forget all the other so-called self-help prophets. Napoleon Hill was the real thing. Imagine sitting across the table from Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, William Wrigley, or Henry Ford as they tell you the struggles that enabled them to give so much to the world. All I can say is besides the Bible, Hill's books and especially this one, saved my life.

And make no mistake i wasn't always sure of myself as I am now.. truth be told I didn't have a choice, I had without knowing it at the time, burned all my bridges.. I had no place else to go. as you can see from my family thread it was no going back to them. I was eitgher going to make it or starve to death, and when you sat those types of conditions up, well, you figure it out.

had i had more options i might very well might not be where i am now. I'm glad I didn't have more options, which is in why in some sick way I am thankful I have the mother i do.

 

[Trader]

To Backbreaker

I agree with you that hard-work, persistence, and ambition are invaluable and every man should be equipped with these traits.

But it is the HEIGHT of arrogance to assume: 'by working hard, and with an indefatiguable will, I will achieve my goals, and nothing can stop me.'

Let's take your example of the success story of Chick Fil A. What if he got stricken down with cancer? What if he died in a freak car accident? Granted those are extreme cases but STILL those things could have happened.

Also, take into account survivorship bias.

Yes, you see the winners, but you don't see the losers who worked just as hard and for just as long, but ended up dying not achieving their goals.

That's why truly wise peple are GRATEFUL for their successes, because they knew God gave them the opportunity to be where they are, even though they themselves put in the blood, sweat and tears. At the very least, your talents are not your own, they were given to you from God. You did not earn them.

Give props, give credit where credit is due, to the Creator.

 

[Lexington]

It boils down to 2 simple questions:
1) Is this really what you want to do i.e. is it worth it?
2) Do you realistically believe you can succeed

If you realize this isn't what you want to do, there is nothing wrong with changing your mind. Sometimes we have to experience certain things to realize that they're not for us. Sometimes the reality of a certain profession isn't what you thought it would be.

Also, even if you do want to succeed, sometimes not everyone can succeed. There are many people that aspire to be pro athletes. They work their butts off and do everything they can to succeed. But it's so damn hard to make it to the highest level that sometimes, no matter how hard they work, they just don't have what it takes to make it.

There are cases when people beat the odds. But the reality is that most people don't. You have to honestly consider whether you think you can succeed. If the answer to this question, along with the first question is yes, then stick with it.

If the answer is no, reevaluate what you want to with yourself. There is no shame or cowardice in changing your mind. You're not living your life the right way if you've never had to change your mind about something.

 

[backbreaker]

It boils down to 2 simple questions:
1) Is this really what you want to do i.e. is it worth it?
2) Do you realistically believe you can succeed

If you realize this isn't what you want to do, there is nothing wrong with changing your mind. Sometimes we have to experience certain things to realize that they're not for us. Sometimes the reality of a certain profession isn't what you thought it would be.

Also, even if you do want to succeed, sometimes not everyone can succeed. There are many people that aspire to be pro athletes. They work their butts off and do everything they can to succeed. But it's so damn hard to make it to the highest level that sometimes, no matter how hard they work, they just don't have what it takes to make it.

There are cases when people beat the odds. But the reality is that most people don't. You have to honestly consider whether you think you can succeed. If the answer to this question, along with the first question is yes, then stick with it.

If the answer is no, reevaluate what you want to with yourself. There is no shame or cowardice in changing your mind. You're not living your life the right way if you've never had to change your mind about something.

a person who questions rather or not they can make it, has already answered the question


you take two people. both want to become say... a salesman. both have cushy jobs as whatever it may be.

the first person quits his job, doesn't come back.


the second person takes a 1 month leave in case things don't work out

10 out of 10 times, that second guy will be back at that job within a month.


A guy who thinks he can read a book here or there, and with the right "breaks" he will be a millionaire within a few short years, is no different than the guy who comes here and thinks he can read a few posts, or even worse, read some Dave D material and think he has the "game" all figured out without going through all the "stupid mistakes" everyone else when through. Smooth seas do not make for skillful sailors.

I will say even now what you are going through is a blessing in disguise. If you gave me the amount of money I have NOW when I was 20.. I'd be dead and I'm dead serious (drugs remember) there is no doubt in my mind I would have killed myself.


Just becuase you WANT something does not mean you are READY for it. While I'm not religious by any stretch there is an old saying, if you want to make god laugh tell him your plans. You will get what you WANT, whatever that may be, rather it be a financial adviser, or whatever profession you chose that is best for you, when you are READY for it. no sooner or no later than that.

And to become ready for it there are usually trails and tribulations hat must take place first.

To your story JS, Napoleon Hill it took him failing 7 times before he realized that maybe it was not money that was what he was really after. He realized he wanted to help people become successful, that was his life calling, and he got to a point he really didn't give a **** how much money he made doing it... of course he did very well for himself but it honestly was not about the money anymore.

you are defiantly on the right path if you are thinking the way you are thinking at 27. Well ahead of the game. the money will take care of itself, it's not about money. figure out what you really want to do and become the best at it, do it to the best of your ability.


i'm not here to argue with anyone, and this isn't coming from me everythign coming out of my mouth comes straight from n. hill. I can damn near quote the laws of success.

I don't know where start8up is, but i assure you if he were reading this post, he would be telling you verbatim what i'm telling you.




Trader, i'm not taking the bait.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

The the OP, you need to do some digging, and find out what you're truly after.

Many people make the mistake of "sort of" choosing a goal, half conscious, half unconscious, and then choose a means to get there, only to find themselves stuck on the means without really having given themselves a chance to find their true intentions.

What was it about being a FA intrigued you?

What did you think it would be like?

What did you see yourself doing as a successful FA?

As you pictured yourself being a successful FA, what were some of the best parts?

Have you experienced any of those best parts in any other area of life?

What was it like?

Would you continue on your current path if you were GUARANTEED to be a successful FA in five years? Ten years? Twenty years?

Thinking about the positive aspects of being a FA, is there any other vocations that would provide those same benefits, that would be easier to achieve, given the skills you've learned?

Is there any successful FA's that you work with whose brains you could pick?

 

[Trader]

Trader, i'm not taking the bait.

Because you are scared, scared to admit that some things are out of your control. That your world is not as stable as you would like to admit.

This passage sums you up perfectly

James 4:13-14 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

Work hard? Yes.

Be persistent? Most definitely.

Hope for the best? Always.

But again, it is the height of arrogance to proclaim: 'I can achieve anything I want, nothing can stop me.'

You will be humbled, just like Icarus who believed he could fly higher and higher, until the bright hot sun started to melt his wings.

 

[CaptainJ]

Does being a Financial advisor make you happy? Think long and hard about this. Is the work you put in worth the end result? Are there other things out there you are more interested in eg. Stocks?

YOu could well be in the wrong field of expertise, since it does seem your skills are being undervalued. I would suggest building up assets on the side, eg. stocks and real estate, taking you towards financial independence, and then you'll be able to do whatever you want.

Also disregard Trader's bullsh1t advice and God delusions.