I was walking out my church for the final time before moving from Stillwater to Indianapolis to start my career in sales.
As I reached for the lobby door I heard a voice call out behind me, "Jason, yo! Hold up." We had just said goodbye so I was eager to hear what else he had to say. "What do you want for yourself? What do you want to be? Because I just have this feeling that you're supposed to be a writer. Have you ever considered just putting your thoughts out into the world?" I laughed and immediately shut him down. "A writer?!" I ask incredulously. "No one wants to read or hear what I have to say."
"I think a lot of live could be changed from hearing or reading what you have to say. Just think about it."
With that we dapped up one last time and I left to start my job in sales in Indianapolis. While I was excited to have a steady salary and job people understood, I never wanted to be in sales. Two years prior I was dead set on being a motivational speaker, hoping that my words would change people's lives. I had a professor in college tell me it was a dumb dream, so I changed my aspirations.
A year and a half into my sales job I got a call from my old friend, Ryan. I answered and instead of his happy-go-lucky self, he sounded exasperated. "What are you doing with your life, Jason? Why are you wasting your time in sales?"
"But you're in sales..."
"I AM SUPPOSED TO BE IN SALES YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER!" He lovingly shouted through the phone.
It took two people I deeply admired to raise my own aspirations, but it worked. A year later I was filing paperwork to start Jason Wetzler Leadership, LLC and it continues to this day.
At crucial moments in people's lives, we can raise the aspirations of other people simply by suggesting they pursue something more ambitious or purposeful than what they are currently pursuing . It cost Ryan and Cody nothing more than their time to raise my aspirations and drastically change my life for the better.
If you're looking for a valuable way to spend your time, spend it raising the aspirations of others and watch the world change for the better.
Nod to this article and James Clear's newsletter for the inspiration behind this post.
Fact
According to the American Bar Association, about 85% of the world's population has low self-esteem.
Action
Raise the aspirations of someone else today.
Question
Who in your life is aiming too low in their career, relationships, or personal ambition?
Quote
"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." - Michelangelo
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