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By Larry Winget
NY Times Best Selling author, Larry Winget is NEVER at a loss for words. And today, things aren’t any different. Buckle your chin strap and read on, my good people…
I want to make it clear from the start that this rant was inspired by Troy Simmons. He wrote me on Facebook with his comments that I have included below. It was so good that I suggested to him that he write more and put it out there somewhere but he said for me to run with it if I wanted to. So I am going to add a bit to what was already a great email he sent me, but I want to say thanks to Troy upfront for his inspiration.
From Troy: “It is my observation that there is a growing epidemic of excuses that I call the “Lazy Man’s Theory of Relativity.” Americans seem to continually measure their position or situation in relative terms that makes their lazy lifestyles appear more successful. Let me give a few examples: I am relatively thin compared to that fat guy; I’m relatively rich compared to that broke ass over there; I work relatively hard compared to the narcoleptic janitor; I’m a relatively great parent compared to that woman wearing the muumuu feeding her kid Twinkies for lunch; or the worst one—we are relatively free compared to people in other countries.
What has happened that has enabled us to give up on our ideals and settle for relative success or perfection? Why are we always on the search for that loser whose life sucks more than ours so we can remind ourselves how good we are doing. I can’t stand it when someone makes relative comparisons to make the current situation appear less painful or pathetic.”
That’s what Troy sent and I agree. What’s happened to us?
There is plenty that happened to us and I have written 6 books talking about most of it. However, I think that a good bit of the comparisons we make are based on our constantly being fed stupidity via the media. Since people on average watch about six hours of TV per day it’s easy to see how we buy into it or maybe we just absorb it like a sponge. I always tell folks that about the time that you think your life sucks, just flip over and watch an episode of Jerry Springer and you will see some folks whose lives REALLY suck! But it isn’t just good ol’ Jerry that serves up these idiots to us on a silver platter. It’s Supernanny and Nanny 911 showing us how pitiful people are as parents. Then it’s Wife Swap, that disgusting bit of voyeurism into the lives of horrible people and dysfunctional families who are need attention so much that they are willing to expose their stupid lives for all of the world to make fun of. Want to see some truly pitiful, needy people who have taken it mainstream?
Try watching The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. If my kid ever acted like any of these attention-whores I would smack them. Do people honestly think they are going to find their one true love by acting like these trashy women and idiotic narcissistic jerks act? They aren’t and only an idiot would put their sad life on television and be so shallow in their relationships. Or tune into Big Brother. Hell, even watch an old episode of Big Spender if you want to see some pitiful folks! Or if you want to really feel good about yourself tune into ten minutes of Toddlers and Tiaras. This horrible show about parents dressing their 2 and 3 years old like strippers to win a “beauty pageant” is without a doubt the most disgusting display of stupidity on the planet. Someone should horsewhip these stupid people and take their kids away from them before they screw them up beyond repair!
My point is this: We make these shows huge hits on television and tune in week after week in order to make ourselves feel better about our own lives. “I may not be doing so well but I’m not THAT bad!!!!” It’s not about how well you are doing relative to how badly others are doing. It is about how well you are doing based on how well you COULD be doing. If you have the ability to earn $250,000 a year yet you earn only $40,000 a year, you are a loser. Why? It’s not because you earn $40,000 a year believe me. It’s because you could be earning more and you aren’t. If you do your best and earn $40K per year, then I am fine with it. Or if you only earn $18K a year based on your honest to goodness best effort, that’s okay too. I don’t measure people by how much money they make so don’t jump on me about this, instead, pay attention to my point: You aren’t doing your best. You could earn more and you aren’t. Why aren’t you? Are you lazy? What’s your excuse?
I don’t care where you are in any area of your life, if you are doing your very best with the talents you have, then I will applaud you. If you aren’t, then I will say you are wasting your life being less than you could be, earning less than you could be, and you are cheating yourself, your family and the rest of us by not doing your best.
This is what I want you to do… Look at your life. Examine where you are financially, in your career, your health, your weight, your education and your relationships. You might even want to take some notes. That’s right, write down how you are doing so you will have it in black and white. Then ask yourself in each area if that is the best you could be doing. Write down your answer. A big fat YES or NO will do. Then ask yourself why? Only you can answer this one. Know why you aren’t doing your best. Get honest with yourself. Write this one down too so you will have it on paper in front of you. Tell yourself exactly why you aren’t willing to give it all you’ve got. Pay attention to that last sentence where I say, “why you aren’t willing” because that is what it comes down to. It is about whether you are willing to do what you know it takes to be your best. And know that if you aren’t doing your best it’s simply because you are not willing to do it. Stop looking at the idiots out there comparing your actions and results to theirs.
Stop living the Lazy Man’s Theory Of Relativity. It’s about your current performance relative to your personal best potential performance! Oh yeah, and stop watching so many stupid people on television.
My last big pitch for my new book, No Time For Tact: 365 Days of the Wit, Words, and Wisdom of Larry Winget
My new book is now available at all of the online bookstores and at your local bookstore. You can buy it online for less than $14 bucks even! It is one thought per day based on the very best stuff, hand-selected by me from my other books. It is a daily calendar book that gives you a daily kick in the butt to move you from where you are to a better place. Each page features a dose of wisdom, an inspiring idea, a rant, or just a good ol’ hilarious thought on a variety of topics including career, family, personal finance, parenting, personal development and business.
If you have already bought the book, please leave a review of the book at your favorite online store. Just go to: http://www.larrywinget.com/notime.html
And of course make sure to visit Larry’s website: www.larrywinget.com
