Why Most of My Old Friends Are Broke and Unhappy

Over the years, I’ve drifted away from many of my old friends. There are also other people around me, and I notice that they’re not living up to their expectations. They’re out of shape and unhealthy. They’re not making a lot of money. They’re in debt.

In my life, I’ve seen the qualities that have made me and other entrepreneurs successful in certain areas. I’ve also seen what causes people not to be successful. The number one thing—and this may sound harsh—is that the unsuccessful people are just plain lazy.

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What Have You Been Doing?
I’ll talk to some old friends and ask them, “What did you do during the weekend?”

They say, “I went out drinking. I went to the bar. I partied. I had fun. I went on a trip.” They never tell me, “I read a book. I went to a conference. I applied this new thing. I joined a Mastermind.” It’s never anything constructive. It’s always about having temporary fun.

So if you’re not getting the results you want, it might be that you are lazy. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. Maybe you are not doing what you need to be doing. You’re not taking action. You’re not learning. You’re not growing. You’re not developing. You’re busy flailing around in mindless pursuits.

Or you could be afraid. Many people are scared to try new things. They fear going outside the box and trying something different that might cause people to judge them.

Experiments, Mistakes, and Lessons Learned
Looking back at my journey, I’ve tried a lot of things. I’m by no means perfect; I’m no role model. I’ve made my mistakes, but I’ve learned. One thing that I’ve done really well is that I have tried a lot of things and experimented. I haven’t always succeeded, but I’ve absorbed lessons from my setbacks.

Most people do the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results. I know some people who have YouTube channels who are dead broke. People follow them, and they’re great people, but they’re dead broke. They’re in debt.

The truth is that they’re not as happy as they wish they would be. And it is because they’re doing the same thing over and over again. They expect to get different results by doing exactly what they’ve been doing. They go to the same thrift stores and sell the same items on eBay. They follow the same business model and wonder why their income is not going up.

I ask them, “Hey, how many books did you read? How many courses did you take?”

They say, “Oh, no…books, courses—that’s nonsense. Why would I spend money on something that I can get for free on the internet? Why would I invest in a course? That’s such a scam.”

Whenever anyone says that to me, I know that there is a 95 percent chance that he or she is dead broke. That person is a pessimist and believes there is no value in books and courses. The person thinks everyone is out to get them. Everything is a scam.

You’ve Got to Grow
But what happens is that these people don’t grow. They don’t learn. They don’t apply themselves. They don’t do things outside the box because they’re so worried about what people will think about them.

I have many old friends who I really want to help, but I can’t say anything to them. What am I going to say? “You’re lazy. You’ve got to take a risk and apply yourself. You’ve got to go take a course. You’ve got to read the books of successful people. You need to try new things. You’ve got to stop doing exactly what you’ve been doing.”

So I’ll say this to all of you now: Try new things. Grow. Learn. Develop your knowledge base.

I’m not the brightest bulb out there. But what I have going for me is the willingness to take a risk. I’m willing to invest in myself and do things that are a little bit different.

If deep down inside you are wanting to take things to the next level, think about what I have said here. Ask yourself, “Am I being lazy? Am I watching Netflix all the time? Am I screwing around getting drunk or high all the time? When I have an hour free time, am I thinking and taking out a notepad and writing down 20 things I can do to add value to my customers? Twenty creative ways I can go about improving my private label product? Am I taking that time and just screwing off?”

Ask yourself if you are doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Listen, if you’re selling on eBay and happy with making an extra $500 a month because you work a full-time job as a teacher and that’s what you love to do, don’t change. It’s not all about how much money you make.

It’s that feeling in the pit of your stomach that tells you that you are not content or happy with where you are. If you feel as though you want to get to the next level, ask yourself, “Am I being a pessimist? Am I not investing in myself, reading, learning, growing, and getting around people who are being successful?”

You Need to Act to Succeed
That’s what it comes to at the end of the day. I want you to succeed. I want you to grow. It really hurts me when I see people who want so much more, but they’re not investing in themselves.

You can make it happen. You just need to let yourself move, improve, and experiment.