with guest John Hewitt #FranchiseSecrets Ep47
If you don’t know how to live in the present, there’s no reason to build for the future. You won’t know how to enjoy it when you get there.
I don’t know that I’ve ever met another individual who truly loves his work more than John Hewitt. It’s what’s made him so successful and it’s the reason he never plans to retire. He knows himself, he knows what he loves, and he wants to spend as much time as possible doing what he does best: building businesses, helping others and changing the world.
Although John has enjoyed some seriously big payoffs in his career, he’s successful because he knows it’s not about those payoffs, it’s about enjoying the journey. It’s about waking up every day happy to have another chance to share your work with the world. When you enjoy your job like that, the payouts are just a bonus. Something that serves as a reminder of why you should follow your dreams and remain true to yourself above everything else.
We’re not all John Hewitt, but we should all be enjoying our work and our lives. We only have one go round on this planet, and if you’re not happy, you need to reevaluate how you’re living and why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Unfortunately, far too many of us are caught in careers that we don’t really enjoy. Most of us are not realizing our own dreams, we’re following someone else’s, and that ‘someone else’ is often not treating us as well as they should be.
It’s never too late to make a change. This is your life and you still have time to live it how you want to. If you’re considering doing so, start by asking yourself these questions. If you’re not enjoying your day-to-day, they will help you recalibrate and find a better path forward.
- How do you feel every morning on the way to work?
Do you wake up feeling fresh and ready to go? Do you look forward to the tasks you have on the docket, or do you find yourself dreading your workday?
Before you go telling yourself that ‘this is just life,’ imagine what you think John Hewitt feels like on his way to work. Do you think he’s mopey and sulking, or do you think he can’t wait to get started? Why shouldn’t it be the same for you?
2. Do you see obstacles as an opportunity?
Do you relish the opportunity to tackle new challenges, or at least see them as something that will make you stronger in the long run? If you constantly see new obstacles or bad news as nothing more than a thorn in your side, you’re probably in the wrong line of work.
Work should be invigorating. Those who love their journey don’t mind the bumps and bruises they receive along the way, they actually enjoy them.
3. Are you fantasizing about a big pay day?
If the only reason you’re showing up to work is for a potential payout down the line, maybe you should think twice about the career path you’re on. There’s no amount of money that’s worth slogging through years of your life unhappily. Even if you do someday receive it you’ll likely just realize that it wasn’t actually worth it.
In reality, we don’t need a huge amount of money to be happy. We need about $75,000 per year (in the United States), and beyond that we need to have close friends and family around us (read: we need to enjoy our lives). More money than that doesn’t do much for us, so basing your life around becoming uber rich doesn’t actually make sense.
4. Do you have a life outside work?
It takes a rare breed, such as John, to really embrace work so much that it’s fulfilling in and of itself. If that’s you, great, but most of us need to have a good balance that makes it all worthwhile.
Do you have hobbies? How often do you see your friends? Do you even still have friends? Particularly among men, loneliness is one of the most debilitating health factors today.
If your social circle has deteriorated due to work, start making steps towards restoring it. If we’re not spending at least a portion of our time on things completely unrelated to accomplishing goals, it’s easy for the meaning of life to slip away completely.
5. How would you feel if you found out you were never going to retire?
What if you were to continue on at your job until the very end? Would you feel ok about that, or would it turn your stomach in a knot? If it makes you want to curl up in a ball, you’re clearly not enjoying your job or your journey. When you’re on a path you actually like, it should feel like there’s no reason to ever stop.
Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anyway. People that live their lives waiting to retire often wind up doing nothing but sitting around. They realize they don’t know themselves, and they simply get old and do nothing to enjoy their time, like they’re waiting to die.
If you do get to retire, you want to be able to enjoy it, and the best way to know you’re going to be able to enjoy your life then is to learn how to enjoy your life now. Living in the present is a skill, and if you’re not practicing it, you’ll likely never have it.
Look, we’re not all John, and we don’t need to be, but we should hold ourselves to his standard of always staying true to ourselves above all else. We don’t all have to sit on top of empires, but if you’re not happy with your job, there’s almost definitely a better one out there for you.
Try new things, shake it up. Life is all about the journey. If you hate the journey, you’re probably going to be disappointed with the destination too.
