I’m currently working on my Painting Business part-time while still working as a full-time USPS Letter Carrier… but before this, I had all my chips in the “Union Job”.
For someone who is influenced very easily like myself, this can be a dangerous place. Luckily, I was given a whiff of smelling salt. Here is a short story:
The Unsuccessful Life:
There was a point in my life when I thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread.
I was working as a union letter carrier, attending all the union meetings, reading all the work responsibility manuals, chatting online with pro-union carriers and officials about rules and rights.
Man was I becoming an information machine!
If I was performing on a subpar level at my job, I knew exactly what to say to get management off my back.
“Danny for Union President!”, people would chant in the streets with their picket signs.
Okay, well not really, but I WAS being asked to take a larger role in the union.
It was sucking me in and consuming my life, but my “WHY” for doing this was all wrong. (More on this below when I talk about my hourly pay.)
The knowledge that I gained was great but the way I was using it – or planning to use it – was not great. If I could only use 1 word to describe it, I would go with unproductive….and in so many ways.
It wasn’t always like this.
When I first started the job, I was happy, smiling, vibrant and excited to go to work. I enjoyed it and it paid well.
I like to think I’m naturally a happy guy, but I also get upset very easily.
The Italian/Irish in me I guess. I continue to learn about myself and how to manage my emotions.
So what was the trigger? There had to be something that started it all.
How do you go from being happy to being vindictive? Yep, vindictive.
The answer… my hourly pay was reduced by $6/hr and I was thrown right back into the struggling chair of life.
I was so upset that I wanted to make them pay for it.
My mindset quickly became, “How can I go slower to compensate for the money?” and “How can I make THEIR job harder?”.
Short answers:
1) I wasted so much valuable time just digging myself a bigger hole.
2) I only made my own job more stressful.
How does one snap out of this?
Hopefully, there is someone or something to give you the slap in the face you need.
For me, it wasn’t a physical slap but it took someone to stand up to me and announce (in front of a crowd) “If you don’t like it, you can always leave.” *SLAP*
Luckily, it was a woman who said this to me and forced me to dwell on this all day.
My mind was in such a bad place that I’m ashamed to think about what could have happened if it was a man.
The Successful Life:
I thanked that same woman 3 years later. It was the shift in attitude I needed.
It basically made me think, well yeah, maybe I should leave. Or maybe I should at least start doing something to help my situation instead of hurting it.
This is when I decided to start painting again. This is also when I decided to do it differently.
My previous painting business was closed after I failed to make it through the last recession, even after being established for 10 years.
It was a fresh start, a much different start, but fresh nonetheless.
Where to begin?
I began with working on myself.
The first audiobook I listened to was “The Greatest Salesman in the World”, by Og Mandino. I listened to it many, many times over. It was an excellent start for me.
I had so much hatred in my heart and this helped me over that hill.
“What I stopped feeding my brain and started supplying it with made all the difference in the world.”
From there I listened to more self-improvement books such as:
- “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
- “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
- “Awaken the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins
- “The Total Money Makeover” & “Entreleadership” by Dave Ramsey
- “The Compound Effect” & “The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster” by Darren Hardy
- “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
- “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg
- “Leap First” by Seth Godin
…and many more.
Ask yourself: What are you constantly learning about and who are you associating with?
“You are the same today as you will be tomorrow except for the people you meet and books you read.” – Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
Go here to see where like-minded achievers go to share ideas and learn the DYB System.
Now that I righted the ship above my shoulders, it was time to start working on my business.
I found Steve Burnett on his YouTube show called “Ask Steve B Show’.
Here was a guy who knew how to be a Go-Giver! He answered my questions and sent me one of his books,
Since then, I have gotten to know Steve through Facebook and we’ve also talked a couple times over the phone. My impression of him is that he is a thoughtful, intelligent man who likes to help people and have fun while doing it.
I am currently a DYB Cafe member as well as belonging to DYB Mastermind Group with other like-minded people and Ron Ramsden as my coach.
My list of accomplishments is longer than I care to type out.
I’m staying busy with painting and giving my business a good foundation to grow from when the time comes.
My main goal is to rid the debt that has plagued my family for years and years.
It’s all hard work! No way around it. Just grind it out day in and day out and your snowball will start accumulating, and before you know it, the compound effect will kick in!
I hope I slapped someone in the face today….because you truly deserve the best.
Danny Arey
Arey Painting