The Art of Doing

Sitting in a coffee shop in Carson, California, reading a few chapters of a motivational book I picked up at an Urban Outfitters store months prior, was the key to my successes today, and my future successes. Imagine being told that you couldn't or shouldn't pursue something, because of your social status, or because of how people perceive you to be. There is this common misconception in the middle-lower class that you should stay in this comfy-cozy bubble of office jobs, minimum wage jobs, or even boring high class jobs. Before I continue, this is not a biased article. I respect everyone's work choices, and what they choose to do in this life to survive and be happy. This article is for the young bosses who have yet to discover that they're capable of doing so much more. The young bosses aged between their mid-teens to late twenties need to hear this. The only thing that keeps you back from your goals in life, whether its major, minor, short/long-term, is your energy that is given when performing the art of doing.

Let me define the art of doing in urban terms. The art of doing is the act of avoiding the common, yet destructive, actions of being lazy, stubborn, disconnected, and (my personal favorite) AFRAID. We subconsciously make excuses for ourselves all the time... "I'm not going to get started on that paper today, because I have four days to do it." "I'm miserable at my current job, but I'm only 19, so I should be grateful that I even have a job." "I'm more of a computer science major, but I go to Law school, because of my parents." "The only reason why I won't start my own business is because I don't have the money, and it's way too much to deal with." These are all examples of destructive actions that were listed previously. When you take that step to:

1. Avoid letting people define your future for you
2. Actually get up and contribute to your goals instead of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or Netflix
3. Avoid using your living or financial situation as a reason as to why you can't do something
4. Put your big girl/boy/gender neutral pants on

will be the start of a brighter future. You're only limited by what you think you can't accomplish.

I always considered myself a team player. Help the team, get the job done, go home, get paid in two weeks, or receive a passing grade, repeat. There's nothing wrong with this lifestyle, but I never knew how in demand I could be, and how much of a leader I was until I stumbled across this book called, You Are A BadAss: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness And Start Living An Awesome Life, By Jen Sincero. I endeavored quite a bit of self doubt, and not only that, I received doubt from others. It took a long time for me to realize that people only "doubted" me because they needed me to remain a follower. Another reason why people will doubt you is because of their personal fears of you not making it far in trying to accomplish something so big or outlandish like starting your own business, or joining the army or getting a degree in art. Humans naturally fear what they don't know or understand, and the moment you step outside your comfort zone and take healthy, risky actions that benefit you in your career, or just in life in general, the better your outcomes will be, and the more at peace you will become with yourself.

I took the risk of quitting a job that I didn't see a future in, getting a job in a company that challenges my people skills and communication, and working on an online retail store while being a 21-year old college student in the lower-middle class. I've been working with some amazing people, and have been given offers left and right since I've made my leap of faith in pursuing my dreams. It's not an easy leap, but it is not impossible. There have been really rough times in this mist of all of this, but with consistency, confidence, a good heart, and a positive mind, you will be rewarded over time. It takes real courage to fail and pick yourself up to keep going all at once and that art of doing is within all of us. Within six months, I experienced the most life changing things that I am so grateful to have experienced at the age that I am, all because of a book that I read for 45 minutes at a coffee shop. If I could do it all over again, I would.