Who's stopping you? It's you, damn it!

Oh we hear these excuses all the time......

"I don't work out because I don't have time"

"This person/event/happening is the reason I'm not successful"

"I'd love to do what I want to do, but...."

The last one's a doozy. People will make excuses on why they are career 9 to 5ers, or why they can't succeed in life. They use wife, kids, job, all that stuff to use as a crutch for their own insecurities. While those are good excuses, they tend to forget that it was past decisions that caused their own downfall.

Here's the thing. We're all young at one time or another, and we're all single at one time or another. Those are the years where you can make the decisions that will change your life forever......or just be like everyone else. You can take the chance of making a business with someone, or decide it's too risky and climb the ladder somewhere. You can buy a prime blue chip stock, or decide that the stock market is too risky. You can kick someone's ass, or get your ass kicked.

Unfortunately, 99% of the world chooses the latter in every decision. They listen to Mom/Dad/Friends/Grandparents/Whoever tell them that they could never possibly make it, and they need to get a job. The majority listens too.

I made up a saying once. At 10 years old, it's a dream......at 20, it's a sacrifice.

I'll explain.

At 10 years old, you'll NEVER hear a kid go "I want to be a fast food manager", or "I want to be an insurance agent". No, it's always doctor, lawyer, sports star, superagent, any of the cool things that a kid's imagination can think up. Once they hit 20, all they hear is "grow up, get a job.......", and they listen. Those dreams become sacrifices. Doctors and lawyers take 8 more years of school past the four it takes to graduate, only 1% of the population makes the pros at any certain sport, no matter how good they are, superagents(CIA) usually have a major league education, and absolutely no social life at all. Those are sacrifices the vast majority are not willing to take.

It's the same with actors, or directors, or producers, or anyone else. The world sees the bright lights on TMZ, but once they experience the reality, it scares them. The reality is that Danny DeVito had like 70 some auditions before he got his first speaking part, and it was because casting agents looked at his scrawny stature. The reality is that Tom Selleck was a constantly struggling actor with a wife and child, and constantly striking out with pilots. The reality is that people see the 15 minutes of fame Snooki from Jersey Shore gets, and believes that it's that easy(and in the advent of youtube, it is unfortunately that easy), but for every Snooki, there's 5,000 different Arnold Schwarzeneggers hearing from their reps that their accent is too strong, and their name is too tough to say, and they'll never make it in the business.

But you know something? Successful people don't listen to that shit.

That's why they are one percenters. One percent of the world that is that successful, and is willing to go the absolute extra mile to be even more successful, and will not let anyone get in the way. That's why those same people succeeded.

So I ask again. Who's stopping you from doing what you want?

It's you stupid, and no one else.