I’m sure this post will piss a lot of people off.  But if it motivates just 1 person… then it will be well worth it.

And while you’re reading – make sure you look at this as a business advice post.  This isn’t  political. This is NOT about republicans vs. democrats or anything like that.  As a matter of fact, I don’t support either of those parties and frankly despise 99% of politicians.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 6 months, I’m sure you’ve seen the discussions of the 99% vs. the 1% in the United States.  Many of the 99% believe that the wealthiest people in America make too much money, and that more of that should be shared with the lower level workers in companies.

It’s a good rallying cry, and it makes a great political angle to exploit.  And just a few years ago, I probably would have been in the corner cheering on the 99%.

But after a few years of running my own business my views have changed.

One of the biggest changes in my mindset that’s helped me be more successful in every area of my life was getting rid of the victim mentality that I held onto for so long.  I always had an excuse outside of myself for why things in my life were the way they were.  And when you let yourself think like this, you’re capable of rationalizing pretty much anything to make yourself feel better.

But here’s the blunt truth that I’ve learned over the past few years…

The first thing you need to realize if you want to be successful is that no one in this world owes you shit. You don’t deserve anything.  You were born into this world like 6 billion other people and what you make of your life is 100% dependent upon YOU.   Until you get this through your head, and you fully understand it, you’ll never reach your full potential.

What most people don’t understand is that just because you’re a hard worker and you’re loyal doesn’t mean you should make a bunch of money.  Your income is directly related to how you affect the bottomline.  People that are producers understand this.  People that grind out 40 hours a week in a job they can’t stand usually don’t.

Another thing you need to recognize is the fact that most successful people bust their ass and risk everything for their success.  Sure there are people who get lucky and get rich because of their family or they get a fat contract from the government, but the majority of people I know and work with that are successful have risked a lot to get where they are.

Hell, I lost a relationship with a long time girlfriend in part due to my drive to be successful at all costs.  I can still remember sitting in my apartment barely making $2,000 a month while I was grinding out 15 hour work days to try and get my business to where I wanted it.  Most people don’t have this kind of ambition and aren’t willing to make the real sacrifices that are necessary to be successful.

The idea of working 40 hours a week and taking weekends off was nowhere in my mind when I was struggling to build my business.  I was working well over 70+ hours per week and getting up at 9 Am on Saturday & Sunday to work as well.  And at the time, no job was beneath me.  I was doing consulting gigs and copywriting jobs for absolutely peanuts.   I’m embarrassed now to think that I sold my services for as little as I did.  But at the time, I really didn’t care.  It’s what I had to do to make ends meet.

I think one of the biggest problems most people have is they don’t realize how good we have it right now.  If you live in a free country where you can do whatever you want for a living, then you’re already miles ahead of most people in this world.  How would you like to be born into a country where you have no choice what you get to do for a living?  The government says you’re a factory worker, and you’re a factory worker for life.  Those people are the ones that are truly screwed.

Yet in America, we have so much opportunity, and we live in a period of time where it’s literally never been easier to make money.  I started my business in college at the age of 22 with less than $500!  And guess what?  It was a bitch to get started and I took a lot of shit from everyone including family and friends when I was starting out.

I can still remember people laughing at me after I graduated college when I told them I was gonna try to keep this going and see where it goes.  This type of “job” just doesn’t seem normal for most people.  They don’t get it.  They don’t understand the entrepreneur’s mindset.  I don’t want to rely on a company to determine my income for the rest of my life.  I want all of my success to be dependent on what I do.  I want unlimited freedom to make as much money as I can and to live the life I want.

And while I’m on that topic, don’t let anyone tell you or make you feel like being wealthy is a bad thing.  The envy and jealousy of most people is a sick, sick emotion.  And they’ll do everything they can to bring you down.  Making a lot of money is a DAMN good thing.  Just last year alone, I was able to have a full time employee, multiple freelancers working for me and I was also able to donate at least $4,000 to local dog rescues.  Because of the good year I had, I was able to help out a lot of people.

This idea that by getting rich you are “hurting” other people is complete bullshit.  Unless you’re scamming them out of money, then you really have no reason to feel guilty about making money.

So to get back to the original title of this post, you have a choice whether you want to be in the 1% or the 99%.  The 1%  is not some “pre-determined” class that you need an IVY league education and a rich family to attain.  I came from a small town in Ohio of 30,000 people with a dad who works in a factory and a mom that’s held every job from waitress to preschool teacher.  I barely scored a 23 on my ACT and I wasn’t even smart enough to get a business minor in college.  Yet, Ive busted my ass over the last few years to learn everything there is about advertising and making money online.  And now I’m at the point where I make a pretty good living doing what I love.

Like Dan Kennedy has said “You either believe, like me, that because 1% of the people are rich that ANYONE can get rich, or you believe, like many others, that because 1% are rich that NO ONE can get rich.”

It’s your choice.  Just remember it all comes down to YOU.  All of your successes and all of your failures are a result of what you’ve done in the past.  You can either stay on the same path you are on now, or you can make a change and strive to be a part of the 1%….

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