Every Sunday I like to write about 3 random things that are on my mind.
Sometimes these things are about business…
Sometimes they’re about life…
And other times, they’re just truly random.
So with that said…
Let’s jump into the first random thing on my mind this morning.
1. I’m seeing more marketers suffering from “lifestyle creep” than usual
If you’re not familiar with “lifestyle creep” it’s when your income goes up, but your expenses go up at the same rate.
So lets say you were making $30k a year…
And now you’re making $100k a year…
Your life should be better at $100k a year (i.e. you shouldn’t be so stressed about bills and money).
But for a lot of people their life isn’t better.
Why?
Cause they’re spending too much.
So they still live paycheck to paycheck.
And they don’t save anything.
They’re making 3x the money, yet their bank account looks the exact same.
This happened to me when I made the jump to 6-figures back in the day.
I leased a $55,000 Jeep…
I spent hundreds of dollars at the bar without thinking twice…
I upgraded to an apartment that was a lot nicer than my old apartment.
Before I knew it, I was barely getting by each month.
I see this a lot.
And I feel like Ive had more people privately confess to me lately that it’s happening to them.
Obviously the solution is to not spend so much money.
But I think awareness is the real issue.
You don’t realize you’re doing it until it’s too late.
So hopefully this message hits a few people between the eyes who need to hear it.
Alright let’s jump to the second thing on my mind this morning…
2. You have to meet people where they are – and not expect more from them
This has been a big shift for me lately.
I used to always project my own expectations onto people…
And I’d be upset when they wouldn’t meet those expectations.
For example…
I’ve always wished my Dad and I could have a closer relationship.
I wish we could talk about things that matter to us…
Or talk abouthow we feel about certain things.
I tried to make this happen for years with him.
But it’s dawned on me that he’s just not emotionally capable of that.
He can’t open up…
He can’t talk about deeper things…
So we stick to stuff he’s comfortable with – like talking about football and golf.
It never gets any deeper than that…
And I’ve learned to accept that.
Cause this is who he is…
And what he’s capable of.
If I keep hoping for him to be someone else, I’m just going to be disappointed.
This is what I mean by meeting people where they’re at.
And not putting your expectations on them.
It’s not an easy thing to do to just allow someone to be who they are.
But if you can do it, I bet all your relationships (business, family, romantic) will be better because of it.
Alright, let’s do one more of these…
3. Let things go that don’t matter, and move-on
A few months ago I paid a guy $3,000 to build a custom desk for my office.
He showed me wood samples…
A design of the desk…
And I signed off on everything.
He emailed me back in May to tell me the desk was done, and he’d be delivering it soon.
It’s now August 8th and I still don’t have the desk.
The guy who built it has gone M.I.A and isn’t returning any of my calls/emails.
My assistant knows him personally and he’s been spotty in responding to her as well.
At this point, Im convinced I’m not getting the desk.
So I’m out $3,000.
Which pisses me off.
Part of me wants to go to his house and slash his tires…
Part of me wants to sue him in small claims court.
But the “adult” side of me keeps saying I just need to let this go and forget about it.
Cause the reality is that if I spend 5-10 hours trying to sue this guy.
Or track him down…
It’s simply not worth it for me.
My time is worth a lot more than that.
I’d be losing money if I did that.
And making myself even more upset.
I’m better off just chalking up the loss and getting another desk.
Which pains me to do.
I don’t want him to get away with this.
But it’s probably the best for me to let it go…
And move on.
Like I said this is hard to do.
Cause emotionally I don’t want to just let him off the hook.
But moving on is the best thing I can do.
I can tell you from experience that being able to “move on” like this is a rare skill.
Not everyone can do it.
Most people will stay focused on things that suck the life out of them.
All because they can’t let go.
So my advice?
Do your best to “let go” when something isn’t benefitting you anymore.
I know it’s not easy to do.
Cause your emotions will be strong.
But if it’s in your best interest to let something (or someone) go, then you need to do it.
Alright…
That’s all I got for today.
Hope you got a nugget or two from this.
Enjoy your Sunday
– Justin
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