Living "Outside" of the Box

What was once supposedly working for people for the last 100-150 years or so, is no longer working. Many things happened during this time. Assembly lines were invented, and mass-production was born. Everything was in the process of becoming streamlined.

People were being over worked and underpaid. Corporations grew larger and richer, and people became numbers. Creativity was stifled and whoever had the best output or numbers was promoted.

So what has changed in the twentieth century?

NOT MUCH!

Fast-forward to today and you will find nothing much has really changed except for the items which are now being mass-produced. Oh, and computers of course. The digital age is upon us. However, the work concept, and way of living is entirely the same for most people. It goes something like this:

1) Grow up and hope to get a good stable job, with a good stable income.

2) Live paycheck to paycheck while providing for your family, and hope that in the meantime, you make a little extra money here or there to take a vacation or buy a newer car.

3) Meanwhile, miss a few of your kid’s life events due to work, and worry about how to pay for college tuition, as you don’t want your sons or daughters to live like this. (All while secretly hoping they understand and appreciate how hard you are working for them).

4) Go to work while sick as to prove to everyone what a loyal worker you are, (making sure to secure your position in the work place in case off any layoffs or cutbacks), while keeping your eye on the prize for all of your hard work and dedication…Retirement!

5) Finally retire and feel completely out of place. Worry about running out of money and how to pay future healthcare bills. Not exactly what you imagined it would be. as inflation and the stock market has taken its toll on your 401k.

6) Watch your children repeat steps 1-5.

No one is ADAPTING!

The industrial age is over and the digital age is upon us. Yet people are still excited to work for big production companies and corporations, as they seek “job security”. Oh job security! How amazing would that be? Not having to worry about getting a paycheck and going to work doing a mindless job, day after day, after day…

First of all, that sounds exciting! Or more like a prison sentence. Second of all, let’s talk about job security.

THERE IS NONE!

It’s a joke! It doesn’t matter if you work for Ford, Coca Cola Co., your local electric company, your state office, or the Whitehouse; there is no job security. It’s a myth. Why?

Because of three very important factors:

1) Trends – they are constantly changing.

2) Mismanagement – this happens more than you think.

3) The Economy – it can be volatile.

I’ve known plenty of people who have had their jobs cut, or have been laid off, whether it was temporary, or permanent, at ALL of those places.

JOB SECURITY IS AN ILLUSION!

So what do you do?

You adapt to a new way of living and a new way of working. You stop doing what everyone else is doing and live outside of the box! This should be your new motto, your new way of thinking, your new way of life…

Start by asking yourself these questions:

1) Do I currently do things differently than most people I know? Or am I on the same path doing the same thing as most everyone else?

2) Am I happy with my life?

Chances are your answer to number won will predict your answer for number two. So what does living outside of the box really mean? First of all, it means understanding a few things:

1) Living “inside” of the box is what 98% of the country is currently doing.

2) People are not ADAPTING to a new way of life, and it’s no longer working for them, or their families. They just think this is the way life is supposed to be.

3) They are not looking around to see what’s changing; instead they keep their eyes forward and they are following all of the other people off of a cliff. Stop being a follower!

4) People who are not adapting are finding themselves financially and emotionally spent.

5) This attributes to over 90% of health problems.

Guess who is ADAPTING?

The corporations and companies that you work for. Part of this process includes eliminating the jobs of people who are no longer an asset to the company. (Most people can be replaced at a job in an average of 4 days. Can you be replaced?)

Living “outside” of the box means adapting a new mindset.

It’s a different way of living and thinking. It is shifting your focus away from money, and security, to spiritual health, and happiness. What most people don’t know is that is the path to financial, and emotional security. They don’t know:

1) Happiness is directly tied to your money flow.

2) Creativity is directly tied to your happiness.

3) Spiritual growth and spiritual health is directly tied to creativity.

4) Physical health is directly tied to your spiritual health.

It’s a chain reaction and money is at the end of the chain. It’s a result of many other things that have nothing to do with money. However, there is a lot more to understand when it comes to this subject. In fact, so much more that I’ve written an entire book devoted to this subject called Universal Laws: 18 Powerful Laws & The Secret Behind Manifesting Your Desires which you might find useful.

“Living Outside of the Box” is not for everyone, it requires you to make a commitment to yourself to change your life, for the better. This is not very easy for some people. For others, they don’t even know where to begin. So I’ve made a list of four simple rules to help you get started.

Rule #1

Always seek happiness.

Determine what your happiness is on a scale of one to ten and commit to maintaining a five or above. Why not a ten? Because let’s be realistic, sometimes we have off days. It’s important on a regular basis for you to ask yourself, “Is this making me happy?” And it’s important to do this when decision-making. Most people underrate happiness and the overall affect it has on your life as a whole. Many people view happiness as a very enjoyable emotion, when it’s really much more than that. It’s a powerful gauge which reflects your spiritual alignment. If you would like some more suggestions on finding happiness you might want to check out The Pursuit of Happiness: 21 Spiritual Rules to Success.

Rule #2

Don’t follow others.

Find your own way. Everyone’s path, and what makes people happy can be very different. What works for others may or may not work for you. This is the time to get back in touch with yourself and who you really are on a spiritual level. Most people know themselves really well when they are younger, then as they get older they loose themselves, and loose touch with who they really are. Many times this can be the cause of divorce or even a midlife crisis. Which brings us to the next rule.

Rule #3

Find out who you really are and what you’re passionate about.

Rediscover yourself!

• Who are you? What are you passionate about?

• What did you used to like to do when you where little? Or even when you were younger?

• What do you get excited to talk about? Everyone has a subject that excites him or her, something they can talk about for hours. What’s that subject for you?

• What do you spend your free time doing? Or if you had free time what would you like to spend it doing?

• If you won ten million dollars tomorrow, what would you do with your life? What would the next year look like? Would you travel? Take dancing lessons? Go skydiving?

Make a commitment to yourself to understand who you are better than your friends and family do. The sad truth of the matter is, most people think they do, but they don’t.

Rule #4

Never “work” another day in your life!

Discover what it is you are passionate about and try and figure out how to make that your job. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about people who when asked about their job reply, “Work? I’ve never worked a day in my life!” They love what they do, so they don’t consider it work. Be that person. You have a special gift. You have a skill no one else has, it’s in your Soul DNA and it usually lies within the area of your passion. Be creative, what is your skill?

• Can you teach it?

• Sell it?

• Do classes on it?

• Volunteer for it?

• Do something online with it?

• Rent a store space to use for it?

• Run it out of your house?

• Sell it at a farmers market?

• Sell it at a craft fair?

• Write about it?

• Wholesale it?

The possibilities of doing most anything you are interested in is endless, when you “Live Outside of the Box”. I’m always shocked at how many people cannot think of one thing to do with their passion. Challenge yourself, challenge your friends! I can usually rattle of ten things someone can do to make money with their passion, but you have to put effort into it! No one is going to hand you a to do list. If you need one, you’re better off staying inside the box.

You have to find your creative side you have to THINK! No more mindless working. Create, think, brainstorm, and experiment! Remember how much more fun science class was when you got to build rockets, then go outside and shoot them off? It was always much more fun than staying inside, and learning how to spot an adjective in a sentence. Boring!

For those of you who are still teetering on the edge of the box, I’ve also made a list of five common myth’s that tend to hold people back and keep them from moving forward.

Myth #1

You have to go to college to make a good living.

This is no longer the case. You need to follow your passion and desire to make a good living; everything else will fall into place. Unless of course your passion requires you to get a degree such as doctor or lawyer, then by all means, find a good college!

Myth #2

Working for someone else is more stable.

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! Working for someone else is far from stable, this was even reflected more recently with the government shutdown! Let’s be real here. A job is only as good as the company, and it’s growth and income. One false move by the owner or the managers, or one hiccup of the economy, can cause thousands of layoffs. Now I’m not saying owning your own business is the right move for everyone, I’m just saying, if you want to do something different, and job security is holding you back, you need to readjust your perspective.

Myth #3

Work is not meant to be fun.

Who said this? The people who you are working for? I’ll let you in on a little secret…work was never supposed to be work. For thousands of years people would become good at something, they would hone in a skill, something that they enjoyed. They would then use their skill to create a product, or they would teach other people what it was they knew how to do. Then you would trade for things you would need. So if others were not so good at growing food, they would trade for it. Or if they were not good at making clothes, they would trade for those too. Somewhere along the line these skills were given the title or label of work, and it stuck.

Myth #4

The economy is bad so I’m lucky to have a job.

The economy is only bad for some people, the people who do not want to adjust. If you stay at the same job you’ve had for years as people begin to get laid off and you don’t adjust, yes, there’s going to be a problem. If you see that your company is not adjusting to the customers needs, yes, this creates another problem. You know who doesn’t have a problem with the economy? Those who adjust. People who used to do well in construction, who have now branched out into remodeling, or diversified their business somehow. People who look at one door closing as an opportunity to discover another door!

Myth #5

If it was that easy, everyone would do it!

Adjusting, opening businesses, venturing out into a new job, if it was that easy wouldn’t everyone do it? NO! They wouldn’t and I’ll tell you why.

FEAR.

People are afraid to do something different, they are afraid to be different, they are afraid of the unknown. I believe that most people know they live inside of the box, it’s not a big secret to them. They’re comfortable and cozy in there.

When you’re comfortable, fear is illuminated.

Who knows what’s out there? If it were so great other people would be out there…right? Um, no! Because other people are afraid too. They are afraid to do something different than what everyone else is doing, they are afraid of failing, they are afraid of…well, fear itself.

No one likes to feel fear. It’s scary!

But did you know that the feeling of fear, and the feeling of excitement are essentially the same feeling? Your brain just labels this feeling one way, or the other, according to your perspective?

Well guess what, everyone is afraid at sometime or another. If you’re never afraid, something is wrong. It means you are too comfortable, and that means your “living inside of the box” because that’s where your comfort zone is.

If you ever do decide to do something different, and take a chance on seeing what is outside of the box, one person will be out there and that person is me. However, let me warn you. Once your out you’ll never go back! It’s way nicer out here…