115. Are You A Have Or A Have Not?

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to Friday Bullpen sessions. All right, today I need to ask you a very important question. Are you a have or you have not?

Now, when I ask that question, I know right where your head wants to go. Andy, do not go there. I don't want to talk about whether or not I'm a have or a have nots. Why? Because historically that phrase the have and the have nots has been used to define money. The haves are those with it, the have nots are those without it. And right now there is a lot of shame, a lot of negative energy being placed around having money. And so that's not where I want to go today. No, no, no, no, no, no. We're actually going to use this episode to talk about the new definition between the haves and the have nots. And by the end of this episode, I hope you can eat. Easily decide which easily decide which side you want to be on. Now let me level set as to why the heck I'm even talking about this.

You know, 13 months ago, when.

Coronavirus became a full blown pandemic and we were forced into what we thought at the time was a two week lockdown, right? Which we have now know was much, much, much longer than that.

I decided to pull out an old book of mine that I had read a couple years ago because very quickly as things were unfolding out in the world and what I was seeing happening reminded me of the story told in this book.

Now, the book I'm referencing is this one right here, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And I read this book a couple years ago mainly because one of my first mentors, Darren Hardy, a man I have never met. But when I really started working on my personal development six, seven years ago, he was the first one I came upon. I started buying his courses, listening to his daily Darren's and just started digesting everything he had to say. And one thing he constantly talked about was his favorite book, Atlas Shrugged. And so it took me a couple years, but finally I said, screw it, I'm going to order the book, I'm going to read it, and I'm going to see what Darren's talking about. Now, if you're watching the video, you can see how thick this book is. When it arrived in the mail, I said, holy, I can see why most people have not read this book. We are talking about a book that is almost 1100 pages, top to bottom, small font, there are no pictures. You are talking about a very challenging read. So if you are a reader and you Want to challenge yourself? Go get this book. Now, let me, Let me describe, without giving the book away, the storyline of Atlas Shrugged. Now, Ayn Rand wrote this, I believe, in 1957. Yep, 1957. And I believe the story told in Atlas Shrug probably took place in the early 1900s. It's fiction, but if I really had to try to put my thumb on it, it took place at the beginning of the 20th century. And the premise of the book, without again giving it away, is.

About how the steel magnets at the time who were driving the engine of America were starting to be overrun with mediocrity. And mediocrity was influencing every level of business in America at that time, from the government top down to the workers that were being employed at their steel mills. The acceptance of mediocrity was just raging everywhere. And so the book guides you through a story of two very large known industrial entities, again made up fiction, who were struggling with trying to grow their business when everybody else, two individuals who were struggling to strive for greatness when everybody else was telling them to back off, everybody else was shaming them for trying to to grow their business and become great and quite frankly, take over the industrial world. Because mediocrity reigned. It was better to accept that things just were the way they were. It was better to accept that you shouldn't work so hard, you shouldn't expect such high results.

And in the book, it's the frustration around those.

Who were lazy, those who wanted things given to them, reigned supreme, ruled the world. And what happens in the book, and it hit home for me, the fictional place where all the great leaders of the time end up fleeing to is a fictional place in Colorado. But what happens towards the end of the book is, as we follow these, the story lines of these two steel magnets who are striving for. For power and greatness. They end up saying screw it, as did so many other business leaders of the time. They all end up closing up shop, giving it all up and heading for greener pastures, heading for a place where positivity reigned, heading for a place where people wanted to get better every single day while the rest of the country continued to let things deteriorate.

Huh. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it? Now, I am not going to use this episode to go into any kind of political statement or political diatribe, but I'll be honest, when the pandemic hit and I started seeing what was unfolding, I decided to pull this book out again.

And I won't lie, I got about 200 pages in. Remember, it's almost 1100 pages. I got about 200 pages in, and I had to stop because I got pissed off. This book actually started making me angry because I started realizing by reading this again, and you got. You know, when you read a book for a second or a third time, you pick up different facets. But I started reading this and I realized, holy shit, this is literally what is happening in America today.

Ayn rand wrote this 54 years ago, 64 years ago, excuse me. And it couldn't have predicted what is happening now better. And I want you to think about this. This is why I'm using this episode, my episode. This episode today is to make a plea to you to stop accepting mediocrity in your life right now. We live in a world where you are shamed if you feel good. Right now, we live in a world you are shamed if you are making money.

Right now. We live in a world where it is better to have things be given to you. It's better to accept your place in life and accept mediocrity. And I'm not putting up with it.

And I'm asking you to do the same. So my plea, using this episode today, is to tell you to strive to get better every single day. Think about right now.

The everyday resources, everyday services we receive right now, where mediocrity is the flavor of the day. Amy and I have gone out to eat at restaurants for the last three or four months where, I mean, the service wasn't what it used to be. Now, I know restaurants are struggling, trying to find good help right now, and they're doing the best they can, but the truth is, the service isn't what it used to be.

Think about the U.S. postal Service. I'm just happy that a package arrives to my house on time without being damaged. And I don't know about you, have you tried to call Uber lately? It is just a guessing game as to whether or not that car is actually going to show up.

Meaty acridy is everywhere right now.

And so I am asking you today, by list, be being a listener to this podcast. I'm not asking you to take any political sides. I'm not asking you to do anything except strive to become greater every single day and impact others to do the same. The only way you can help uplift the energy of the collective right now, in this country, in this world, is by being the best version of you. Quit accepting mediocrity in your life. Wake up every single day.

Holding yourself accountable to be the best version of you that you possibly can be and quite frankly, hold those around you accountable to do the same. Because I truly believe, if we can, one person at a time, start influencing others to be great, start influencing others to strive to get one ounce better every single day, we can unravel the mediocrity that we are experiencing right now.

And the last challenge I would give you is if you haven't read the book Atlas Shrugged, do it. It is an unbelievable read. It is a great story. I warn you, if you believe what I believe, you might get a little angry by reading this because it's exposing some realities right now.

But at the end of the day, there's only one thing you can control. You cannot control what's happening out there in the world right now. You cannot control what's being shared and said on the news. You cannot be. You cannot control what others are saying on social media. But what you can control is what you are doing every single day. The decisions you are making to become a better version of yourself, to quit accepting mediocrity in your own life. And by quitting, by quitting, by not allowing yourself to accept mediocrity, you become an influencer in others to do the same. Because they're going to watch you. They're going to watch the actions you take, they're going to watch the decisions you make, they're going to watch the people you're surrounding yourself. And they're going to be able to make two. They're going to make two decisions. They're either going to get on board and they're going to come along for that ride with you and then in turn they get better or they're going to fall back and continue doing what they've always done and continue accepting mediocrity. And that, my friend, is the new definition of the haves and the have nots. The haves are the ones that are using the time right now to get better. They're using the time to improve their mind and using their time to improve their body, their health, their business, surrounding themselves with individuals who can lift them up and getting rid of the people who are sucking them down. The have nots are the people living in the dumpster fire. That is what the news is pushing out there. The negativity in this world, the woe is me ho hummery that is infiltrating our daily lives.

So I know this one was pretty direct today, but I had to say it. I had to get it off my chest. Because right now, mediocrity is the flavor of the day, and we have to put an end to it. And it starts with you.

Do yourself. Do me a favor. Wake up tomorrow with one goal in mind. Be the best damn version of yourself that you can be. Whether that's being the best damn dad, the best damn wife, the best damn son, the best damn employee, the best damn business owner you can be. Because if you do that, if you take that one goal and apply it day after day, you're not only going to lift up your results, you're going to start lifting up those around you. And when you start doing that, we start uplifting the collective energy, this entire world. And when that kind of clarity and that kind of confidence come together, you know what happens? Unbelievably massive action. So please, go make that happen today.