Beyond Aspire Explore
We have to get beyond aspiring for wealth and stability and figure how why so many accept normal.
I read about an acquaintance of mine who is a military member.
He posted on his Facebook wall that he was released from his Physician Assistant program at a nearby University.
Due to just barely missing the grade point average to maintain his qualification to remain in the program (3.0), he was released having earned a very respectable 2.91.
He was driving 150 miles a day round trip daily while also jugging teaching ROTC Cadets and working to support his baby girl.
As he states,
I am now at a cross roads with my life, should I remain in the medical field, military or a completely different venue
I am so tired of seeing this.
I write a great deal about failure here at rundreamachieve because every great success has come from it.
We don't always pick the best careers for our particular skill sets and sometimes we have to experience the ebbs and flows along the way for God's guiding hand to tell us what we should do.
Sometimes we pick the careers we are most certainly suited for and something like getting kicked out a program because you were a tenth of a percent point away from the standard you are released.
How is that for some control?
I can teach anyone how to get what they want in life. The problem is, I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want – Mark Twain
The problem is we usually let others opinions guide us into doing what we really ought not be involved with in the first place.
We take out loans, go back to school because it is what we think is best, when an alternative such as network marketing could be the very thing we need.
Now, I know everybody isn't going to jump on the network marketing bandwagon.
This business model isn't for everybody but if you are sick and tired of being rick and tired perhaps this post will enlighten you a bit more.
I know because I did and spent over 12 years paying back college loans that I took out because I did what just about everybody else did.
I graduated from high school and went to college.
Isn't that what everybody else is supposed to do so we all can get ahead in the world?
You know, get a college degree so you can have a stronger resume, make yourself more marketable?
Why is it than so many college graduates, who are deeply in debt, cannot find jobs?
This, too, leaves clues.
Are you listening?
Is Normal Acceptable For You?
It isn't for me any longer.
I wrote about my wake up call in Afghanistan in Interest Versus Commitment and I highly encourage you to read that post if you still accept normal.
My friend above has no control and leverage of his time.
He was driving 150 miles commute on a daily basis to do what he was doing.
Are there other options out there for driven, leaders like my friend?
The likelihood he will consider that route is slim to none because the majority of us have been hard wired since we were young to accept trading our life for a paycheck is just the way to do things.
Trust me, it isn't and I can prove it.
The world that is largely driven by consumerism.
We have allowed our friends, family, peers and associates indoctrinate us into believing it is a scam, that it isn't worth it, you have to be good in sales.
The excuses are endless.
One of my favorites is it is a ‘get rich quick scheme'.
Have you ever stopped to wonder what getting rich slow feels like?
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he – Proverbs 23:7
I think we all can relate to that who have accepted what we have been taught growing up.
Invest In A RunDreamAchieve Training Plan Today
I don't know about you but my time is limited and I want to experience life to the fullest extent and help others do the same.
I don't have time for their limiting viewpoint but I do have time to help anyone willing to listen.
My wife, is a pinning junkie and loves creating and helping other people make better choices with the way they eat and the products they use in their homes.
Will everyone listen to that advice, even if it means they can live a healthier and longer life?
Knowledge surrounds us everyday and we don't take the time to listen, too caught up with reality television, who won last nights football game or what task the boss demands we have completed by O dark thirty tomorrow morning or else.
She had mentioned to me one night,
Nathan, I think perhaps creating a website for people who are actually interested in network marketing is best.
If the company I partnered with involves health and nutrition, helping others increase their wealth and knowledge of an antioxidant that can help them become better athletes, why on earth, would there not be more interest?
Everyone is not ready is one reason and secondly commitment hurts, it just isn't comfortable to start a business or take a risk, do something the masses are not.
We all want to feel safe, peer pressure makes us do things we wouldn't normally do.
I may not make it as a career man in the military.
My goal isn't to be a member of the good ole boy network where my value is based on the amount of hours I remain caccooned in my office.
This just isn't me.
My time is more valuable than a paycheck or a glowing Officer Evaluation Report.
Perhaps that makes me a lousy Officer compared to my more well-rounded, higher ranked peers that put more man hours in than me, but the truth is, time and being with my family has now become even more important than any amount of money.
It should be more important to everyone in comparison to a paycheck.
Our reality is warped and doesn't have to be what others tell us it has to be.
Your value as a human being isn't wrapped up in the amount of hours you stay in your office so the boss can be damn sure you care.
Caring is also reminding people that their time is precious and by you working 2 hours less than the next guy or gal doesn't make you any less of an employee or person.
If you did something in your off hours that changed someone's life the boss wouldn't know a damn thing about it.
You have to value your time more than most do.
We live in a society here in the United States that rewards self sacrifice over self responsibility.
If I was given an unlawful order, regardless what perks or awards I were to receive by following it, I would not follow.
I have followed long enough already in my life, it is time I start learning how to help people to truly lead their own lives instead of allowing others to lead them for them.
Your life is precious as it your time, stop accepting normal, being an employee and start studying what the 1% study.
Do You Seek Comfort?
The choices we make as employees astounds me.
It took my base in Afghanistan nearly getting a direct hit and racing in Afghanistan to make me realize one thing which is my main reason for this post.
We all have to wake up to this reality.
Our thoughts, what we feed ourselves, the people we associate ourselves with and our idea of earning income has to be challenged.
If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea', and it will obey you – Luke 17:6
The gentleman I am talking about and I are not close friends but he is an extremely talented athlete as well as military leader.
How many extremely intelligent, driven, educated people do you know that are barely making ends meet?
Could that person be you?
You know this whole website has to be about more than just running because what I am talking about could take your running to such a higher level if you hear me out.
The majority of my readers want to know how to run faster, just don't bring up how to make money or network marketing.
Why not?
Wouldn't you like to have complete ownership of your time, have enough income coming in so that flying over to Kenya and training with them would be something you could do and not have to worry about how you were going to fund it?
Ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened for you – James 7:7
Do you realize how powerful those words really are?
Are we abiding by that knowledge?
If you have a job, the job really owns you.
How much time do you really have in any given week to do what you truly want to do?
You may love your job but the reality is we live in a world where 99% of the world's population is controlled by the 1%.
Instead of getting mad at the 1%, figure out what they are doing, study it and get out of your predicament – Robert Hollis, Network Marketer, best selling author, has helped 41 people become millionaires
A Paycheck Or Debt Servitude
I haven't stopped thinking about Eric's Facebook post since I saw it.
He also stated
For awhile, I struggled with the feelings of personal and professional failure
This is normal.
We all have been there but when we let the situation dictate our self worth, it is time for change and quickly.
I have been there with my running over the years failing at the marathon distance wondering if it was my best fit, until I got it right.
My greatest motivation in choosing network marketing and partnering with Herbalife was because here was something where people didn't have to fight to maintain a specific grade point average or they are kicked out of their program.
They didn't have to meet a specific athletic goal like my friend Kenny Foster who needed a 2.19.00 marathon in the US Army World Class Athlete Program and because he ran 2.19.49, one of the top times in the country in 2010, was released.
This form of ‘measuring up' eats people up and demoralizes them, takes the joy away from the process.
You feel free when you let go of people's expectations, of standards that must be met or else.
I ran my best marathon time of 2.19.35 with no stress or worry, no demands.
I keep that as a reminder for everything I do now, don't sweat the small stuff.
Schools have criteria and if you don't meet it, you are out.
The resume asks for work experience.
Do you have a security clearance?
How much education do you have?
One of my personal favorites is
A Bachelors degree is required, Masters degree highly desirable
Reason #5000 why I woke up and chose Network Marketing
I recently went out on a limb and did something I despise and I have my reasons for feeling the way I do.
I applied for the head Athletic Director position at the Air Force Academy that was open in early September.
It was, what I thought, a great fit for me considering I studied Sport Administration in graduate school, come from an extremely competitive athletic background.
The job required a Bachelors degree with a Masters degree in a related field as ‘highly desirable' .
I just so happen to own a Master of Science degree in Sport Administration from one of the top University's for Sport Administration studies in the United States.
The University of Northern Colorado.
My work experience has been that of an active duty military member for just about 13 years now, which has taken me away from the academic school setting.
The position required managerial, leadership and athletic background.
Well, I applied for the position because I felt good about myself and figured if they are looking at the whole person concept, I might have a strong chance of getting the job and moving back to beautiful Colorado Springs to work in a field I actually know a thing or two about.
Two deployments under my belt, a former member of the United States Army World Class Athlete Program, service as a Non-Commissioned Officer, Commissioned Medical Service Corps Officer and several other leadership positions.
If you have work experience, a college degree, an advanced degree, experience at the elite level in sport, outstanding resume and references (VERY strong references I might add) surely getting a job is doable right?
Wrong.
I received word that I was not selected.
Failure is part of the game but that experience was icing on the cake for me.
I don't now if it was Divine Intervention or what but it was the straw that broke the camels back for me.
Adhering to the resume and job game had to change.
My longing to become an entrepreneur only grew stronger from that experience.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
I tell my athletes all the time.
Stop getting worked up over things that really don't matter, just find out how to do it better and rely on those feeling to motivate you to do something different.
Failure can either eat you up inside or can motivate you to think outside the box.
Normal surrounds us all, doesn't mean we have to accept it or adhere to what everyone around us is doing.
I created Rundreamachieve 10 years ago this December.
I could have created natepennington.com but it was never intended to be specifically about me nor did I ever want it to be.
This site is about lifestyle enhancement, whether than be mindset, distance running, weight loss, network marketing.
The resume is the only trap people fall for which leads them to having less than they are capable of.
This is only my opinion so don't get bent out of shape, we all have to see the reality around us.
What I see is too much conformity, unhappy people accepting where they are at.
This needs to change.
Now, that may sound cynical to read but some of the brightest and most successful people in terms of wealth and leverage of time are not dealing with this.
They did not choose to go to college to depart with $31,000 in debt only to get a job as substitute teacher like I did back in 2000.
They didn't choose to serve in the military because there just wasn't any other option available.
I don't regret my military service as I have met wonderful people and have traveled the world, even made some friends in Afghanistan that I will always remember.
It hasn't been bad but I want to experience more control in the latter stages of my life and hope you will partner with me to enjoy that experience.
Hard Choices To Make
We are selling ourselves short.
The gentleman I mentioned who has been dropped from his Physician Assistant studies probably is now in debt from the classes he was taking and now has to make a new plan for his life.
He has no control of the situation despite juggling multiple responsibilities and still maintaining a very respectable 2.91 GPA.
Are we looking at what we are supposed to do according to what we have been taught or searching for what the wealthy know that could free us from the overwhelming feeling of how to make it to the next paycheck?
Get good grades, go to school (or Physician Assistant school) so we can go and get a good paying, salaried job?
Is this the only reality the majority of us should follow?
My own brother is who is my heart and soul aside from my wife, has 4 beautiful children and he and my sister in law, a registered nurse, make ends meet to provide for their beautiful family.
Is my brother comfortable?
I won't go into details but all of this that I am sharing here leaves clues for me as does success.
It hurts to know other people are hurting.
I observed the masses and I did the opposite – Holton Buggs, 7-figure per year network marketing professional.
Too Much Distraction
Do you want to be entertained and distracted as distance runner?
Go visit letsrun.com's ‘world famous message board'
Do you want an education that will teach you how to run faster and study alternative ways to generating income that will free up your time to run as often as you want?
You need to stick around here a bit longer.
I have learned in this sport and in the short time I have been involved with network marketing partnering with Herbalife that true success, involves sticking around.
Interest is writing a blog post or creating a website about yourself and how fast you ran at your last race and not updating it for a year.
That is not commitment.
It is normal.
Commitment is writing posts about how to to help people shortly after your base comes within a few hundred yards of a rocket propelled grenade hitting it.
Commitment is creating a website that takes the attention off yourself and puts it on the welfare of its readers 3 years later, regardless if people read it or not.
Beyond aspire explore why there is such a small percentage of the world's population that owns such a large portion of the world's wealth.
Instead of wasting time reading about and salivating over runners who run faster than you on runningtimes.com, runnersworld.com or letsrun.com, take the time to learn how they do it in the first place.
How fast I run my marathon doesn't change your financial reality.
Read that statement over again and let it sink in.
I have provided clues here at rundreamachieve that can help you do that.
Study Wealth And How To Control Your Time
If my friend lets go of what his peers, family and friends are expecting of him, to stay in the medical field or military to ensure he can get a good paying job and paycheck, even greater opportunities will open up for him.
He has the creativity, leadership background and mind to do it.
What I have seen with my own experience is that even when you have the leadership, education and athletic background at the highest levels applying for a job, you are still relying on someone else to pay your bills.
We need to get past being employees and following orders and learn how to be entrepreneurs and use our creativity.
The problem with following orders is that it drums the creativity out of employees.
You allow someone else to dictate what you are to think, where you are to be, when you need to be there and when you are permitted to depart.
This isn't living, it is modern day slavery in a somewhat humane way.
I have honorably served for the past 12 years on active duty but there is a point where every man or woman has to wake up and see the reality that surrounds them.
The taking action part is what seems to to be the biggest hindrance to far too many.
What happens if I lose my job?
When will I get promoted?
How will I live?
What about those medical and dental benefits?
Are the rich asking these same questions?
Think about it.
The money isn't my concern, it is having total control of my time, helping others do the same and having so much capital that you never have to worry again.
Am I making myself clear yet?
Cut The Umbilical To The Paycheck
There are tremendously talented people I have worked with over these past 12 years, the problem is they all are employees and rely on a paycheck to get by.
I hope I am not offending anyone by writing this as that is not my intent.
Keep in mind, I too, am an employee currently despite having studied entrepreneurship for the past 5 years.
My goal isn't to remain one much longer but become a full-time entrepreneur and creator of products that will help people.
I know earning income while I am sleeping is not just a cute term used by wealthy entrepreneurs and best selling authors.
I've switched from being a consumer and became a producer and have yielded small returns, and while my friends and military associates talk about football games, politics and what constantly negative news (CNN), I am busy studying wealth.
Everyone can and they are no less than me, we all have a choice on how we are going to spend out time.
What my intent is, is to hopefully motivate and inspire you to see that there are better opportunities out there for us.
Let me be honest, when I get a call from someone on my phone calling from Europe it means I am doing something right and gives me hope, inspires me to help others see what is possible.
There is knowledge the halls of academia never taught me.
Are you listening Eric?
If there are people earning in a week what highly specialized, highly educated professionals make in a year, that fact alone, leaves clues.
The value of our time goes beyond any amount of money we can earn.
We can never get that time back.
I can never get the time back that it is taking me to write this post but if someone comes here to rundreamachieve, reads this and their life is impacted and they take action, was that time well spent?
Yes.
We all have to trade time, the reality is we let others squander too much of it by relying on a job and a paycheck as the only way to earn a living.
Our time as employees is owned by the employer for the majority of our day.
How is that a winning option?
A negative 60 percent return on the most treasured and valuable asset we own, our time.
5 days of work for a 2-day trade of freedom?
Are you kidding me?
We'll gladly accept a negative 60 percent return on investment with our money but but not with our time?
Why not become an entrepreneur and learn to make money work for you instead of you work for it?
Have I got your attention yet?
This is real.
If you want normal go to letsrun.com, turn on the television set and watch some reality television.
This whole site is about hustling, accepting failure as a learning tool for enormous success.
Your legacy is everything. Hustle is everything – Gary Vaynerchuk, Entrepreneur
The majority of the world will pass up knowledge for a few hours of television instead, even if it is at the expense of them missing out on a fortune.
We have to wake up.
You have to go beyond aspire explore greater opportunities like Herbalife, network marketing, alternative means to generating income, because getting let go of an academic program, despite that your highly skilled, driving 150 miles daily, is not worth the heartache.
There is no reason, in 2022 to do shit you hate. Please stop doing that. You could lose just as much money being happy as hell – Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It
Closing Thoughts
I don't know where you are in your life but if you have experienced having no leverage over a decision in your life, you need to start studying network marketing now.
The entire world is still operating as if they live in the Industrial Aged world.
Let them.
If they won't listen or take the time to give up their television sets long enough to study wealth, dust your feet off.
Next.
You don't run faster by jogging every day.
You have to be willing to do what is painful, uncomfortable, what most will not do to run faster than many cannot.
They can but are they willing to do the work necessary to do so is the question.
Most won't.
Instead, they will sit on their computer and dog out the runners who are fighting to create art in major races in the letsrun ‘world famous message boards' and when they fail are demoralized.
The reality is most sit on the side lines.
It doesn't mean you have to remain there.
There is a big difference between wanting and doing.
Wanting is easy, everybody does it.
I want more money.
Are you studying wealth or network marketing or just how to get a job?
I want to lose weight?
How much work are you putting in to make that a reality?
Doing is painful, involves risk, you may just fail and by doing so you will live and experience more ownership of your time, be creative instead of having it sucked away on account of a job you have to report to because you took out 5 to 6 figures in college loan debt by listening to normal.
The truth hurts but an old saying states
For an individual to live his or her dreams, he or she must first wake up
You have to go beyond aspire explore what the masses are not.
Stop thinking the only way to get by is to get a job, that steady paycheck that is accepted by so many who are barely making ends meet.
Hearing Eric's story just hit a chord with me and I had to write about it.
This site is about achievement and going after our dreams, it was never intended to just be about running and I hope you, the reader, can respect that.
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