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October 22, 2015

The Wake-Up Call that helped me Find Success. {Video}

 Flickr/Hartwig HKD

It took me almost 30 years to find my life’s calling.

At 15, I took a job that was fun, but did not excite me. It did not make me want to hop out of bed and rush to work.

I worked at a country club. I did various jobs for almost 15 years—everything from a caddie, to a server, to a bartender—until, eventually, I became a manager.

I worked there part-time, throughout high school and college—and inevitably, I began working full-time, after graduating with my bachelor’s degree.

There were so many days I would wake up thinking of excuses to call out and not go in to work. I felt like I was stuck in quicksand. The money was decent, and I had some fun moments at the job, but I almost always left work feeling unfulfilled—wanting to do more with my life.

Then I saw a video that changed everything for me.

Mr. Eric Thomas is a motivational speaker who has been dubbed the “Hip-Hop Preacher.” He speaks with such passion and provides a truly unique personal story–-he is not afraid to tell it how it really is. He does not use profanity, and he has the unique ability of being able to personally connect with his audience during his speeches.

This video inspired me to do something more with my life—to chase after my dreams. It inspired me to go back to school, get my master’s degree and pursue my passion for teaching.

To this day, I still occasionally re-watch his speech, to help motivate myself to keep going.

I am in a better place now, professionally. I have a job that truly excites me, and money is secondary to the joy I receive from my profession.

Sometimes we come across a video—or perhaps a quote or an image—that immediately hooks us in, and it is that wake-up call we have been needing to receive all along.

This is the wake-up call that helped me find success:

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Relephant:

How I Stopped Comparing Myself to Others.

 

Author: Adam Wilkinson

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/Hartwig HKD

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