Enlightenment, Entitlement and Encouragement

I've always been a pretty big fan of Humans of New York and the messages they share. With so much enlightenment and wisdom in each post, whether it's about an elderly lady embracing her unique sense of style or a young life-saving Surgeon saying he "only handles small procedures"; there's always some sort of deep and sometimes mind-expanding message and many, many feelings inspired by their posts.

So when I saw this simple photo of a young woman's hands kind of questioning the world, I knew this post would be interesting. Let me go off on a tangent and just say that I love the photos without faces, the stories seem to be deeper and more relatable... Regardless, this post about life and the sense of entitlement that some seem to feel really hit home with me and inspired me to expand on the topic somewhat.

“I think I felt entitled to success because I’m smart and I’m good at stuff and I work hard. Maybe ‘entitled’ isn’t the...
Posted by Humans of New York on Saturday, January 16, 2016

Here in America, raised in the millennial generation, we grew up with a community telling us "we can be anything we want to be" since the time we were born, entitlement is just part of our upbringing. Even though we feel like the world should be served to us on a silver platter, life just doesn't happen that way and most of us figure that out with time. But for some reason, I feel compelled to give a little bit of advice today - for anyone working towards their goals in life, whatever they may be.

We all need to realize we need to work to become who we want to be, we need determination and drive to make things happen, and simply put, things don't just happen, we have to make them happen. We need to push ourselves, step outside of our comfort zones, and occasionally, we need to fail to succeed. I'm still learning these lessons myself; but after having a successful year in 2015, I've truly learned the importance of hard work and determination.

I'll be the first to admit that I went through many stages over the past few years where I wasn't really succeeding with blogging and/or self employment in general and I probably should have been putting my effort into other endeavors to actually help support myself & my husband. But alas, I'm a stubborn broad and I was determined to make this work and I did... but it was with a lot of effort and, I won't lie, some tears were involved too.

I can remember several people telling me to "get a job" ... and to be honest, I probably should have. But I knew with enough determination I would make things happen. I didn't feel entitled to receive money based on my blog, but I knew that if I worked hard enough at my craft... I would gain readers (like you - side note: I truly appreciate you), I would be able to work with companies, and eventually I would make an income doing something I love.

Sharing stories and my feelings with you is something that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I found my happy place right here on the internet and I'm so proud of myself for working so hard to make things happen exactly as I wanted... but I still struggle with entitlement some days, as we all do and reality often bites me in the butt when I'm feeling that way. Luckily, even with reality's cold hard truth hitting some days, I know that committing to a goal and finally achieving that goal is the most rewarding experience I've ever felt so I keep on keeping on and so far my hard work has really paid off.

Instead of rambling on about determination, I guess what I'm saying is this: you CAN be anything you want to be and accomplish practically anything... IF, and only if, you are determined enough to make it happen. While I love encouraging kids to follow their dreams, THIS is what we should be teaching the next generation.

So tell me, what goals are you working towards in 2016? Do you have a 10-year plan that involves accomplishing some great feats? I'd love to hear all about your life, your determination, and your plans in the comments below... Plus, if you have any tips on learning to focus and achieve your goals I'm dying to hear all about them!