One of the greatest observations, and most empowering truths, ever penned, uttered, conceived by the human mind came into being when Alice Koller had the strength of character to admit to herself:
I’ve arrived at this outermost edge of my life by my own actions. Where I am is thoroughly unacceptable. Therefore, I must stop what I have been doing.
Countless people would begin to have a real shot at happiness, and fulfillment, if they accepted this way of thinking. They spend so much time looking back upon the mistakes they made rather than changing the behavior that caused them in the first place. So you screwed up. Big deal. Forgive yourself. Move on. Start building a better life. Find the work you want to do, be brave enough to honestly assess what you desire without fear of failure or rejection holding you back, and throw yourself into it with everything you have. If you come up short, so what? You’re in the exact same position you are now, only you can at least hold your head high.
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Reader Comments
(6)
Comments are presented chronologically, with replies indented beneath
the comments to which they respond.
J
Joshua
January 4, 2014
It's absolutely amazing what you can do with kind of thought process. 5 years ago I woke up to find myself 80 lbs overweight, broke, and unemployed. It took a year to get my dream job and run my first marathon. Just over two years ago my wife and I got married with over 150k of consumer debt and next to no retirement savings. After two years of hard work, budgeting, and a lot of learning, we finally have zero consumer debt and over six figures saved up. It's exciting to think about what can be accomplished over the next 5 years!!!!
Thanks for the work you do constantly teaching and motivating, it's very appreciated.
J
Joshua Kennon
January 4, 2014
Replying to Joshua
Congratulations on all of your success! This made my morning. Thank you for sharing it.
Your penultimate sentence reminded me of a book I read in Dallas last summer, which I picked up in the gift store of the Omni Hotel downtown called Five. It's not even really a book, more of a self-reflection exercise with blank spaces that the person can use as a tool. It really is amazing how much a person can reshape his or her life in sixty months.
J
Joshua
January 6, 2014
Replying to Joshua Kennon
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.
S
Stable Investor
January 4, 2014
Well Said Joshua. Inspiring thoughts.
M
Maria
March 1, 2015
Alice Koller's quote reminds me of an addict hitting rock bottom.
Thank you for sharing this inspiring post. We must always remember that we
are responsible for our choices. The problems we are facing may not be our
fault. But we must do our best to respond to our problems.
We use our free will to take action. We get feedback from that action. If we
do something wrong then we can learn from failure. The more lessons we learn
then the better we can perform. The psychologist Dr. Daniel Goleman researched
emotional intelligence. He said most people approach life with action = result.
His model is to use observation + action = result.
It is hard to acknowledge being wrong. But it is very important to change
your mind when confronted with new evidence. If you do not change your mind
then you stay stuck in a rut.
We get back what we give. If we respond to people with annoyance and
irritation then they will respond to us that way. If we respond to people with
kindness and compassion then they will reciprocate.
R
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
September 11, 2017
Great thoughts Joshua. I also believe that one should always follow their heart, no matter what it leads to. At least you would be satisfied that you tried it even if you failed. You won't have any regret in your life
Joshua
January 4, 2014
It's absolutely amazing what you can do with kind of thought process. 5 years ago I woke up to find myself 80 lbs overweight, broke, and unemployed. It took a year to get my dream job and run my first marathon. Just over two years ago my wife and I got married with over 150k of consumer debt and next to no retirement savings. After two years of hard work, budgeting, and a lot of learning, we finally have zero consumer debt and over six figures saved up. It's exciting to think about what can be accomplished over the next 5 years!!!!
Thanks for the work you do constantly teaching and motivating, it's very appreciated.
Joshua Kennon
January 4, 2014
Replying to Joshua
Congratulations on all of your success! This made my morning. Thank you for sharing it.
Your penultimate sentence reminded me of a book I read in Dallas last summer, which I picked up in the gift store of the Omni Hotel downtown called Five. It's not even really a book, more of a self-reflection exercise with blank spaces that the person can use as a tool. It really is amazing how much a person can reshape his or her life in sixty months.
Joshua
January 6, 2014
Replying to Joshua Kennon
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.
Stable Investor
January 4, 2014
Well Said Joshua. Inspiring thoughts.
Maria
March 1, 2015
Alice Koller's quote reminds me of an addict hitting rock bottom.
Thank you for sharing this inspiring post. We must always remember that we
are responsible for our choices. The problems we are facing may not be our
fault. But we must do our best to respond to our problems.
We use our free will to take action. We get feedback from that action. If we
do something wrong then we can learn from failure. The more lessons we learn
then the better we can perform. The psychologist Dr. Daniel Goleman researched
emotional intelligence. He said most people approach life with action = result.
His model is to use observation + action = result.
It is hard to acknowledge being wrong. But it is very important to change
your mind when confronted with new evidence. If you do not change your mind
then you stay stuck in a rut.
We get back what we give. If we respond to people with annoyance and
irritation then they will respond to us that way. If we respond to people with
kindness and compassion then they will reciprocate.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
September 11, 2017
Great thoughts Joshua. I also believe that one should always follow their heart, no matter what it leads to. At least you would be satisfied that you tried it even if you failed. You won't have any regret in your life