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Visit Samsung.com slash business to learn more. But in either case, always with permission from the authors. Today's author is normally narrated in optimal finance daily, but this one fits pretty well into the personal development category, so I thought I'd read the article here for you. If you liked this episode, definitely check out optimal finance daily for more.
But for now, let's get right to it as we optimize your life. P.S., we all struggle by J-Money of BudgetsRSexy.com. If you're feeling down about your finances, or career, or anything else going on, today's post is to assure you that and you're not alone, and that no matter how successful you are, problems, man haters will still find a way to get you. I literally got this email a few hours ago which sparked today's post.
Hi, J-Money. Just one question. How are you so happy all the time? I've been listening to your podcast and keep wondering this.
Anyway, thanks and have a nice week, and the podcast is awesome. How many times have any of us felt or asked this about someone else? I do it at least 13 times a day, and that's an improvement over the 36 times I used to. I assured him that I certainly have my down times, just like anyone else, and that perhaps one day we should do 10 things that suck about our money in life episode, but as much as I feel like I'm good at divulging all my fails here on the blog, admittedly the podcast itself skews overly optimistic and fun.
Still, it's important to remember that we all suck at times, and often others will tell you just how much, whether you like to hear it or not. Here are a handful of comments off my hate mail doc that continues to grow as the years pass. Quote, today's post was so worthless and a waste of time. Quote, I listen to your podcast with Hala, love her, but you sound like a clueless 16 year old valley girl.
Sorry, but to these old years, you sound childish. Quote, to be honest, I don't appreciate the way you come off in your post. You have an air of arrogance that rubs me the wrong way. There's a fine line between confidence and talkiness, and you cross it, and you use the language I find inappropriate for a budget and life blog.
Quote, the content is good, but I'm unsubscribing because I have a difficult time with the grammar style of this blog. I feel like I'm reading text messages, not trying to save a retirement. Quote, I don't really care to read about your life, but a few nuggets of financial advice you give. My time is too valuable.
Quote, tired of the awesomely awesome hyperbole. It felt like I was listening to a used car salesperson. Quote, not the most professional blog and way too many smiley faces on everything. I also cannot believe you rent.
You did introduce me to rockstar finance though, so thanks. Little did they know I was the one who created it. Quote, he says really nice things, but it looks like a weirdo, but I guess that's why people like him. He's like the Miley Cyrus of finance.
Quote, and then the most recent, which concerned me in more ways than one. Quote, I learned nothing from the article, except the writer is bragging to his rich and should talk less before the rest of us kill and eat him. Quote, and this is exactly why I remain anonymous online. So basically no matter how it looks on the outside, we are all dealing with stuff on the inside.
Not to mention the actual stuff you're going through alongside the colorful commentary. Here are a few things weighing on me in real life presently. Number one, it's getting harder and harder to keep my projects afloat. The more they grow, the more attention they're demanding, and it's starting to affect my work-life balance as great as a problem is.
I told myself when I had kids that I'm to stop working nights and weekends, and while I'm a lot closer than my used to be, the work is overflowing into them again. Update where now on a 20-month-old record of not opening up my laptop on weekends, a blogger miracle. Number two, it's getting harder to pay attention to the money-making side of these projects. The more I blog or podcast or build things, the less I want to deal with making money off them because all of these have always been hobby-first business later.
Seeing how I now have a family of four to support, I can't exactly ignore it. Update, I'm still ignoring it with a family of five now. Number three, I feel like I'm not using my full potential. Maybe I'm just not thinking of things the right way, but for the past six to twelve months, I felt like something is missing, and I can't put my finger on it.
It was just a small feeling at first, as I know we're all trying to figure it out, but as the months continue to pass, the pains of unsettleness has grown along with it. Update, I still feel like this way many days and haven't found a good solution to it yet. Part of me is proud for how much I've unhooked from the hustling world, but the other feels like it's squandering all the potential for really doing something good in the community together, and often miss the days of Love Drop and working towards something bigger than myself. Plus, it'd be amazing to include my kids now and doing something powerful for others.
Number four, my wife is having a horrible time getting back into the workforce. It's now officially been a year since she got her PhD, and outside of a few leads and her views here and there, nothing major has panned out. On the plus side, she's spending gobs of hours hanging out and loving all over our kids. We pulled him out of daycare last year to save $2,000 a month, crazy, but I can tell it's starting to get to her, which, of course, affects our family in turn, and only adds to the importance of me making more money for my projects.
Update, she's now been in the workforce going on three years with multiple races, and back to feeling her confident self again, go wifey. So, how does one cope with it all, the feeling of failure and struggle? Well, I obviously haven't figured it out yet, but here are a few things that do help keep me a little sane. Maybe they'll work for you, too.
One, I keep a list of all the nice things people say about me, too. I literally have a Google Doc where I copy and paste all the kind words people have said about me or my projects over the years. Anytime I'm having an unusually hard day, I might open it up and try to make myself feel better. It doesn't always work, but it definitely helps lessen the sting.
Two, I keep a list of all the accomplishments I've done. I featured some of them at the start of my 100 Things list the other month, still at number 26, another fail. But the beautiful part about these guys is that no matter what someone does or says, no one can take them away from you. Once you've accomplished them, you've accomplished them, and you can forever be proud of yourself.
This helps with the potential problem, too, since you can't at least see how hard you've been working. Three, I remember how happy I am just to be alive. This is probably the biggest reason of all why I tend to be happier than not. Any morning I wake up with breath, as a friend likes to say, I can't help but be thankful.
Incredibly cheesy, but incredibly true, because even on our worst of days, it's better to be feeling fee than feeling nothing at all. It means we're alive. All this to say, everyone struggles. What makes the difference is how you cope with it.
Sometimes we're better at it than others, but please, by no means, think you're alone in this, or that it's not normal. You have to have the lows in order to have the highs. They wouldn't be highs if they were all that way. I also find it's helpful to stop comparing your raw footage to everyone else's highlight reel, unless my friend Shannon likes to say.
Because rarely do you see the entire picture when it comes to blogs or Facebook or any other forms of social media that's cropping up. No matter how awesome or happy someone looks on the outside, they've all got their issues, just like anyone else. So remember that you're never alone in this. Everyone struggles.
Do your best today and start a fresh new one tomorrow. You just listened to the post titled, P.S. We All Struggle by JMoneyOfBudgetStarSexy.com. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on.
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And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off, your membership. JMoney is a friend of the show. I've met him a couple of times at FinCon. Likely will again this year.
He does come across as a super happy guy. I was kind of excited to hear that he has a document of all the negative feedback. Generally, I find that kind of stuff very unhelpful, unless it's mixed with good stuff too. Like those ones that I read in this blog, they weren't very helpful, I'd say.
But he did have a list of all the good and of accomplishments that he keeps, which is a great idea. I've received a few handwritten letters from some listeners over the years, and I saved them. Maybe not very minimalist, but they serve a purpose for me and remind me why I'm doing this when I see negative reviews or when people say I'm monotone or hate my voice. So I always appreciate when people have nice things to say, and I love those letters.
And again, JMoney is narrated very frequently on optimal finance daily, where they're posed about how to save more and spend less, automating your finances, what to invest in, all that kind of stuff. So do check out that show for more. But that's enough for today. Have a great rest of your day.
And I'll see you tomorrow with a post from David King of Raptitude.com, where your optimal life awaits.