9 Years of Getting Out of My Head, Blogging, and Self-Expression

9 years ago I first started writing blog articles here. Blogging my thoughts helped me transform myself and reality in the process. My intention is for you to get some piece of inspiration to apply to your own life.

On November 2014 I started my first blog. Back in those days, blogging was what social media is today. Anything you wanted to learn could be found on some random blog floating around the internet. From bodybuilding, making money remotely, freelancing, to how to change your oil.

9 Years of Getting Out of My Head, Blogging, and Self-Expression

At the time I was a 20 year old, know nothing kid. All I knew is the reality everyone around me was living wasn’t for me. Like you, I always felt like there had to be more to life than what we were told. I had grown tired of reading esoteric nonsense which did nothing to actually enhance my existence.

So I turned my mind to learning how to control my emotions, getting in shape, making money online, and getting a better grasp on this thing we call life. Of course, as every 20 year old know nothing does, I wasted years dabbling.

Trying my hand at the trending make money methods of the time. Putting a month or 2 of effort in until getting distracted by another shinny object. This lead me down a frustrating yet in the long-run fruitful path.

I learned what I wanted and didn’t want. As well as what I had the potential to develop and what no matter how much effort I put in would never get good at.

However, the one constant in my life was documenting my path and transmuting ideas in my mind onto Calm and Collected. This gave me something every human being under the Sun is looking for. It’s the thing that wakes you up in the morning filled to the brim with life and excitement regardless of what your circumstance are.

For me at the time, I was poor.

Especially when I quit my job in 2016 (link) to throw myself to the fire. I was tired of spending so many days thinking up what if scenarios. Now while I wouldn’t recommend you just up and quit your job, I don’t regret that decision. I did the hard part up front so that you can just take my wisdom and apply it to your life without having to quit your job without a single source of income.

That doesn’t mean you won’t struggle and suffer. Of course you will. That is part of the price you must pay to achieve a life few ever get a chance to experience. I was much like you in many ways.

Filled with self-doubt, lost, overweight, and hated confrontation. While I had that inner fire all people like you and I have, I held it back. At the time I hadn’t learned how to direct it properly.

So today, let me share with you 9 lessons I learned over the past 9 years of getting out of my head, blogging, and self-expression.

1) You Get in Life What You Take.

All of your life you’ve only accepted what life gives you. Your name was given to you. Where you went to school was given to you. Everything you’ve ever had was given to you or you just accepted your circumstance. In the real world, this is the path to a mediocre and boring existence.

Don’t hit me with that morality talk. You can get everything you want and stick to your principles. In fact, by sticking to your principles you’ll get what you want and have an amazing life to show for it. Any God fearing person can live a life of success, fulfillment, and freedom.

The fact is, your life is your responsibility. Don’t adopt the Victim mentality and try to just “trust the process” and accept less than what you want. Of course, I won’t stop you if you want less. Now don’t go on some anti 9-5 talk. That’s not what becoming a success is about.

Becoming a success is living the life you truly want. Never accepting second best or compromising.

You must understand, the only way you’ll ever fix the emptiness inside of your soul is by going out there and taking the things you want. Whether that be asking out that girl you keep having conversations with in your mind or finally making an actual plan on how you’ll start making serious money.

Nobody is a psychic and so you must talk to others and tell them what you’re thinking. This applied to getting your dream girl, closing a high paying client, or no longer taking BS from your coworker.

2) Distractions Are Illusions.

Everybody these days give so much power to distractions. Thinking that mindlessly scrolling on social media is their enemy. They must stick to strict routines otherwise somehow their dreams will be stolen from them.

Understand, distractions are just an illusion the uncertain person gives his attention to because they don’t know what they want. When you decide what you want, get clear on what needs to be done to achieve it, magically you find what people call purpose.

If you’re distracted, you’re unclear on what you need to do. Luckily that is simple to fix by taking 30 minutes to write down an action plan.

3) The Mind Is Dumb, But a Loyal Ally.

Your mind is a tool to either destroy your life or enhance your life. It only becomes dangerous when you don’t direct it. Most people go through their day allowing it to prance around moment to moment.

Understand, your mind seeks stimulation. If you’re not using your mind in a concrete way, it will find something to do. Up to now that’s been mindlessly scrolling on social media, creating imaginary problems, and wasting your days away on nonsense.

You must take control of your mind in baby steps. This starts with getting serious about something in your life such as hitting the gym, building a freelancing business, or simply improving your speech.

4) Self-Interest is Not Evil.

You’ve been taught your whole life to think of your own personal gain is bad. This is partly true, but also totally wrong. Personal gain when done in a way that gives value to others is great. If however, you screw over someone that’s when it becomes bad.

You should always be coming from the mindset of: “How can I help others in a way that is mutually beneficial?”.

Instead of always putting others ahead of yourself, you should look out for both of you. As I can guarantee 99% of the people around you could care less about your own dreams and needs. Just as if you’re being honest with yourself, you don’t care much either.

Which is why you must begin viewing your own goals and life as the most important part of your world. While balancing it with realizing as you get better others will get better as well.

If you’re poor, weak, and give everyone else your time? You will never be able to help your parents, friends, or the world.

5) Work Hard Before You Work Smart.

These days just as when I got started, everybody wanted to work smart. Listen here my brother in Christ, you must work hard. Getting anything worthwhile in this world will require much harder work than you’ve ever done before. As you have no idea what hard work really is.

You will spend months and years working 18 hour days.

Until one day after you’ve gained experience, offering enough value to the world, and deserve success then and only then can you begin working smart.

My average work day now is 2-4 hours of work. That is only because I worked my butt off from 2014 until now to earn that right. Before I had the team of 5 full-time team members and 41 other people working with me, I was all alone in a bedroom working from a $250 laptop.

6) You Won’t Find Your Path in Your Hometown.

Your hometown will never reveal your path and the person you can become. You are surrounded by people who only know you as you are now. Not only that, you will never learn self-reliance while living in such a comfortable environment.

Starting now, your focus should be on finding a way to earn money remotely. It doesn’t need to be a lot of money, but it better be $1,500 to $5,000 a month without a job before you leave.

It’s pointless to travel abroad with anything less. As I don’t support anyone who’s a needy backpacker living off of savings.

Once you’ve established a solid income and a couple months worth of savings you can book a flight to some exotic land. For me, I’ve lived in 17 different countries over the years. In that time I’ve learned to rely on myself, made many good memories, and found myself as a man.

You will as well.

7) Relationships Are the Key to Success.

In life relationships with your loved ones and people instrumental in your success are key. Nobody ever lived a successful life isolated from everyone without any friends. If they achieved the money without others, I can guarantee they already had or will have a mental breakdown.

Cherish your family even though they don’t yet believe in your vision. Why should they as you haven’t done anything but talk big? It is up to you to go out into the world and make your vision a reality. Only then will you have their belief.

Also, every self-made man had various interactions with people who helped them in some way. Maybe it was an idea they gave them or an opportunity thrown their way. Learn to build mutual beneficial relationships with others and your path up the mountain of success will be more enjoyable and rewarding.

8) Self-Doubt is the Devil.

Doubt has no place in your mind or heart. It is a tool from the Devil to disempower you and keep you locked inside of your current circumstance.

If you don’t believe me, let me show you a Bible verse that proves God wants only the best for you:

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Psalm 27:3

This is where learning to control your mind and emotions comes into play. Self-doubt is a normal part of your human experience. It will always be there at various points of your development. In time, you will learn through prayer and experience to replace doubt with total confidence.

9) Starting a Business is the Only Way to Get Rich.

I have zero issue with people working a day job. The world runs the way it does because of men and women working jobs. Without them, the world would cease to exist. Food supplies would stop, your Amazon packages wouldn’t arrive, and we wouldn’t have doctors saving lives.

However, for the average person you will never get rich by trading your time for money. The only way you will get rich is by selling products or services to other people who will happily pay for them.

There are many ways to generate money from the internet and offline. All you must do is dabble with some until you find a method that works for you.

Of course as in my case it took me 5 years of dabbling before I found one that allowed me to travel the world, increase my income as I wanted, and not have to slave away for nothing. It will require you to work hard and put in at least an hour a day, but it will reward your handsomely once you get it moving.

Always the best,

Dylan Madden