Jettison the Box

A group of four friends were discussing, and it all seem to revolve round insufficient salary. They all went on and on about how inhumane the company is and how insensitive the company has been to their situations. All of a sudden one of them, just kept quiet and kept staring at the most senior of the group. The most senior became curious, “why are you staring at me?”, then she answered, “you earn like three times our salary and you are still complaining, What else do you want?”. Then the most senior replied, “it is still not enough… 🙈”

In the same organisation that our four friends are, are also people who are on that same salary and yet are living very fine. People on similar salary scale who have their own houses and a very comfortable life style. These are sets of people who have chosen to think out side box, or better put jettison the box and explore other options of income generation. If you think it is impossible, you are probably using the wrong tools or the wrong approach. Nothing is impossible for people who are ready to think outside the box.

My question now is, how much is really enough? How much will you earn that will make you not complain about your job or working condition? In my few years at Speaking and Writing, I have come across many people and most of them, I can say, are not satisfied with their jobs for reasons such as salaries, working condition, boredom, lack of growth and work schedule. The truth I have learned therefrom is that most paid jobs are not satisfying. No matter how much you are paid, the likelihood that it won’t be enough is 95%. At first, say the first 6months, you may be satisfied but after that you will realize you need more; more money, more time, more respect etc. At that point, you become limited, boxed by conditions and responsibilities, and to break free you will need to think outside this box.

Thinking outside the box
The first way people invite limitation into their life is by having one source of income. No matter what that source of income is it can never be sufficient to cater for all their needs. You need to find a way to open another source of income. It could be in business, crafts, services or networking… the bottom line is that you access another way of making money. The Jordan Rule suggests that the preferred number is 4 (four), at the point you are above poverty.

Try new things, boredom also makes one feel inadequate. When you try new things, you will meet new people with different views of life, there by making you see old things in a whole new way. People who do not complain about there problems often see their limitation from a whole new angle. I know of a friend who see every challenge he faces as an opportunity, he will say if I am facing this then many people are facing it too, so let me find a solution to it, then sell that solution to others. This friend is very comfortable now because he sells solutions to common problems.

Shift your focus from what your problems are to the solutions you desire. Often times many problem just require one solution and if you ask the right questions with the desired solution in mind, you will find out the problems aren’t has daunting as you thought. Albert Einstein once remarked, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the answer, I would spend the first 55 minutes figuring out the proper questions to ask. For if I knew the proper questions, I could solve the problem in less than 5 minutes.”

Don’t be too up tight about not making mistakes. Discovery as shown us that most inventions are product of mistakes and trial by errors. Trying to be safe will only leave you in that supposed comfort zone, which gives you cause to complain every now and then. Yes, you might lose some time, money, friends, possessions but you will also gain something and that is a better way to do it next time. Thomas A. Edison once said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” and I’m the end he found one that worked. It took him ten thousand attempts to finally get out of the box.

Seek motivation from all avenues. One of the boxes confining most people is lack of motivation. A friend once told me, she is not motivated to do anything. As much as self motivation goes a long way, one most also round oneself with friends that have the thirst for achievements, friends who are also motivated to be successful and change the course of history. Read books, articles and learn about people who have moved from nothing to something. All these would give you ideas, widen your horizon and make you think beyond your current limitations.

I implore you to set aside your limitations today, see beyond your current constraints, keep your focus on where you want to be and do a reverse trace that is rather than trace from your problems to your desired solution, reverse the trend and trace from your desired solution to your problems. You will see things in a whole new way and your life will have a whole new meaning.