Bulletproof Way to Always Get Ahead in Life

by ajohnson | Jan 29, 2019 | Blog, Health, Life, Opinion

 

Yep, bulletproof ways to always get where you want in life.

Whether that’s getting in your life, or making a difference in the world, never settle with where you are right now.

Never become so comfortable in your space and life that you forget that things can change in a second. Always strive for more and be looking in your peripheral for what’s coming your way..

Now, I realize these may be bold statements to make, and maybe go against everything you’ve ever been told.

“Stay in your lane and focus on the tasks at hand. Don’t worry about what’s ahead, finish your tasks now and then do that after.”

Or something to that affect. And maybe it was only me they were talking to…?

I don’t recall exactly, but I do know that where I am in my head versus where those people are in real life are quite different. No one but you knows how and when to be satisfied. And if what you are seeing in front of you in life is different than what you are seeing in your dreams/imagination/headspace, then change it!

Only you can do that.

No one else can.

I can tell you that when I was at my lowest point, when I was donating plasma just to keep food on the table for my little girl, I was envisioning a day where we wouldn’t ever have to do that again – a day where we’d never have to worry where our next meal was going to come from.

When I was drowning in debt trying to make a better life for us and didn’t know if we’d make rent, I was keeping in sight the image of a better life. One that didn’t involve needing to worry about money or where it would come from. One where we could do and buy and go whatever and where ever we wanted.

I sold things out of our home that we didn’t need. I cut off services that weren’t critical to our survival. I worked extra jobs and found ways to increase our income so we could get out of the situation we were in.

Situations and hard times are only temporary as long as you see them that way. Today, more-so than any other time, the opportunities to get ahead and create a life you want are ENDLESS. It simply takes getting out of your comfort zone to make a difference.

I’m writing this blog at 6 am because the inspiration came, and I was up anyways. If I tried to store this for later, it would be gone out of my head. Personally, I’m more productive in the mornings than the afternoons. I do all of my research and important things in the morning because by 2 pm, I’m done working for the day, and switch (for the most part) fully into mom and wife mode.

Because I created that. I wanted to spend time doing homework with my girls and taking them to swim lessons or dance or whatever that ends up looking like down the road. Each and every day is a little different depending on when my husband is traveling or home, but I know that in order to keep the life I want and my vision alive (because I’m still not there yet and my vision has grown and developed into more) I have to do things when everyone else is still sleeping or at school/work.

I digress… back to the ways you can get out of and ahead in your situation.

There are so many ways for you to make additional income, if that’s what you are needing right now. Just yesterday, we found that you could make a pretty decent income by becoming a ‘charger or juicer’ for these new motorized scooters from Bird and Lime. Now, if you don’t live in or near a big city, this may not apply and you won’t have ANY idea what I’m talking about.

If you have technical or administrative skills, and have a computer, you could offer to support someone who owns a business virtually as tech support or a Virtual Assistant from the comfort of your own home.

If you are good with words, or love to share your own journey, you can write for a platform called Medium and receive payment for your words being read by other readers. Other sites that you can offer your services on are Fiverr and Upwork.

The opportunities are endless for you to get out of your situation. The question is, do you want to?

Listen, the economy is the economy and unfortunately, we live in one today that is as messed up as the wind on a spring day in Indiana – great one second and the next it’s ice cold. So do yourself a favor and don’t get so comfortable and believe that you would never get fired or you can change the outcome of your life next year. Do it now, while you can still get ahead, and before your dreams are dead.

What do you think? Good ideas or no? I’d love to know what you do to get ahead in your life.

 

xoxo,

AJ

Christmas lists… friend or foe?

by ajohnson | Nov 15, 2018 | Blog, Christmas, Life, Opinion

The idea of Christmas lists has always been weird for me to grasp.

 

As a kid, it didn’t matter what we asked for, we always got chocolates, a real orange, a real apple, and some peppermints in our stocking.

For gifts, we got socks, undies, and usually a clothing item. Even to this day, I can count on my parents getting me socks and a hand towel and oven mitt set regardless of what my kitchen theme is. We didn’t know any different as some years, we would get to be on the giving tree and get random toys and others not.

We didn’t have money, but as kids, we (I had no idea) that was the case until I was in middle school. My parents did the best they could to make sure we had everything we needed, and not what we wanted.

 

For a long time, I didn’t understand it. I felt cheated and that I missed out. I would try to make up for it by buying myself as many gifts around Christmas as I would buy for everyone else. I wanted to buy the best and most gifts with the best paper to have people tear into Christmas day. I wanted to give the biggest pile of gifts, regardless if they were thoughtful or if they were last minute cheapies off of the holiday section that wouldn’t ever make it out of their package.

 

This continued even after the girls were able to open their own gifts. The best paper to be ripped to shreds and not even appreciated then thrown into the trash. The gifts inside marveled for about 2.5 seconds and then pushed to the side.

The difference is, now, we don’t need to make a Christmas list because we have worked to set ourselves up to be able to purchase anything we need or want, whenever we want.

It’s not to sound arrogant or anything, it’s just that that’s the truth. Through a lot of hard work and smart business, we have went from straight poor as children and now abundant adults.

So it raises the question about the Christmas list again. Do we need to make one to list our wants, or do we ask that people spend more money on their own families and simply spend time and have experiences with us?

 

I know for me, I would rather go to lunch or have a day with someone creating a stronger relationship than any gift could give. And, because we live so far away from a lot of our family, I would prefer they spend the time with the kids instead of giving them a mountain of presents for them to enjoy for about as long as it takes to unbox them.

 

Maybe it’s me wanting to have less things to move someday when our house is done.

Maybe it’s me turning 32 and finally realizing the important things in life.

Maybe it’s looking back on some of my favorite memories growing up, spending time making noodles with my grandma and eating pies with my other grandma.

Maybe it’s me not wanting to clean up the mess… probably a lot of this…

 

Most of all, I think I want them to slow down and remember. Remember the holiday season for what it’s really meant to be – family time.

 

What do y’all do? Do you do Christmas Lists or do you get what you need? Or do you ask for experiences instead of gifts?

xoxo,

AJ