I used to be a security guard before I became an island hopping, pro blogger.
One of my fellow pier guards owned a prospering business for decades. He was a multi-millionaire. Yet he worked the night shift as a pier guard at a shipping terminal and he also worked the morning shift at Walmart.
Even though I clung to a poverty consciousness during those days, I could not grasp how a man with millions of dollars worked 18 hour days between being a security guard and working at Walmart.
Turns out, he mainly wanted benefits for his family but he just wanted to keep busy and earn some coin.
Financial Failures
He could have easily invested in a conservative fund and lived off of his profits, combined with savings. I know he lived frugally.
But a past episode that he allowed to define him goaded him to spend precious hours of his retired life languishing away in jobs he could have easily avoided working.
We spoke about a stock market crash in the past. He says he lost his shirt and noted, “I would never invest again in the stock market.”
Case closed.
He chose instead to work basic jobs to make some dough, to get medical benefits and to pass the time.
He so identified with that past financial failure that he all but defined himself by that difficult experience, stock market wise, at least. Imagine if he did not identify with the experience and chose instead to learn from his investing mistakes and to make wiser decisions going forward? He could have enjoyed retired life into his twilight years, spending more time with his daughters and grand children.
Never Define Yourself Based on Failures from the Past
Defining yourself based on past failures lends your power to the past failure. Struggling bloggers often tell me of past failures that made them hesitant to invest time, energy and money into blogging. How can you succeed blogging-wise if you fear to do the only things that lead to your success? How can you succeed if you forfeit your creative powers because you define yourself by past failures?
My former security guard coworker saw himself as a failed investor so he refused to invest money based on his view of self. He worked 18 hour days at sometimes gut-busting jobs when he should have been enjoying retired life.
Let Go the Past to Tap into Present Power
Every human being possesses infinite potential in the now because we all have the power of choice. Releasing past failures you cling to allows you to see yourself in a different light.
Let go the past now. Stop defining yourself by a failure, screw up or titanic disappointment you experienced in the past. We all err. Winners let it go and move forward with different, more informed, experienced choices.
Learn from failure but never allow failure to define you. You are too special for that to happen.
