About 6 months ago, I decided to give up on my miserable, failing mortgage branch.  I could have got a job somewhere to try and pay some of my bills but I was saddled with so much debt, I figured I might as well go for it all now.  Plus, chasing money got me into this mess in the first place.  I needed a change.

I had graduated film school only to wind up in the mortgage business trying to pay my bills.  Lucky for me, I met my future partner, Chris, through a fellow friend and broker.   Chris offered me the opportunity to get back involved in video, something I always wanted in the first place but was not ready to go after myself.  This was my chance.

We decided we would start our own media production company.  It would be our dream company tailor suited to fit all our needs and desires so we would be able to produce the most amazing work around.  That would be our key to success.

This all sounded great, but it took months to figure out the details.  In this time we discovered who we were through months of research, arguing, trial and error.  We went in one direction, only to circle back to the original direction.  However, we just kept on going.  We even started this blog to track the experiences on our journey to build our dream company.

What exactly is a dream company? Well, for us it had to encompass…

1. Only doing what we were passionate about.
2. Free time every week to spend working out, on personal projects & with our families.
3. Something that would not tie us down to one particular location.
4. Something with multiple income streams and the ability for passive income.

Again, this list was tailor suited to fit for our needs.  For you, it may be different.  However, I would recommend #1 be on everyone’s list.  Doing what you love is something I can’t stress enough.  We never know when our time may be up, so it is important to get the most joy out of every day.  Doing something for money definitely helps in the short term, but long term, I have found it drains me mentally and is actually harder.  Doing something I am passionate about starts out hard, but gets easier every day.

My partner is extremely adamant about being passionate with his work.  It reflects in the quality he provides and has thankfully trickled down to me as well.  What I have learned from him is the quality of work is incredibly valuable in ways you can not even imagine.

For example, one of our first video projects was a commercial we did for my Jiu Jitsu school.  We did it with a $500 budget, and we worked on it for FREE.  That’s right, for FREE.  Not only that, but we also did a $5,000 website for FREE as well.  We basically gave my friend four months of our hard work for NOTHING, and we did it with a smile.

Because we were passionate about what we were doing, we excitedly challenged ourselves to reach a level we had never achieved.  Even when I thought we went far enough, Chris kept pushing.  We were not getting paid, but at least the work might sell itself.  We accepted the risk and managed any personal bills through various side jobs just to make it work.  By June, we had our first commercial complete.  We had the website up and running.  We also had no money and no work in sight.

July was the toughest month for me personally.  I was in desperate need of cash.  I was questioning how much longer I could go on like this.  Everything I was doing felt right, but I was not seeing any financial return.  Nothing.  For a man, I don’t think there is a more inadequate feeling than not being able to pay your own bills.  Times were really rough with no possible end in sight.

Then, in the course of one week, things suddenly changed.

Our commercial started to make some noise.  Suddenly, I had two other Jiu Jitsu schools calling for commercials.  I also had another school calling for a website.  Plus, on top of that, another person called us to do a National commercial.  I could not believe it.  In a mere week, we were suddenly swamped.

But it did not stop there! The work kept on coming in.  After getting those 3 commercials, we also got a huge Web project in a field we love: MUSIC.  We were ecstatic about the project, not to mention the price tag it came with.  By only doing what we love, we have attracted even more work that we love to do.

Only this time, it pays even better!

Starting out on this road has been a challenge all the way through.  Everyday, I still get up and have to manage my debt day by day.  I have to sometimes borrow, finagle, work a side job, or do whatever I can to get by.  However, 6 months in and I can taste the possibilities.  I can see that it is definitely all worth it in the end, if I can just make it there.

Starting any business is not easy, so why not pick one you really like to do?  Even if you can’t see how the money will come, it is okay.  Neither could we.  Sometimes you have to head blindly on instinct and just have faith.  I know this is not easy.  I’m here to tell you, it most certainly is not.  In fact, it is quite hard.  I imagine if it was easy, everyone would do it.  I have found the biggest rewards in life usually come from traveling through the toughest roads.

Don’t be afraid to go after what you want.  In fact, be afraid to NOT go after it.

I am telling you, and my partner will attest, all it takes is passion, patience, and persistence.  You can have anything you want if actually set your mind on it.  That is not just some garbage a parent tells their kid.  That is the utter, and deepest truth I have learned in all my life.  I truly believe there are no circumstances, obstacles, or tribulations that humans can not overcome.  My experience has taught me to ignore all possible excuses because…..

I am the only one to blame.  I am the only one who can stop me from achieving my dreams.  If I do not stop, how can I ever have failed?

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Today, I happened to catch the first 20 minutes of an interesting documentary about the life of the famous boxer Rocky Marciano.  Being Italian, I always heard stories about Rocky Marciano and his undefeated record of 49-0.  I knew of the legend, but never anything about the real story behind it.

The documentary was interviewing family and friends of Rocky when he grew up in Massachusetts.  They all talked about his great work ethic, and his love of athletics.  But the one thing they said about Rocky that always stood out, was something their parents always repeated to them in Italian…

Non parlarne. Basta andare lì e farlo.

In English, it’s “Don’t talk about it.  Just go out there and do it.”  The quote is nothing special, but the meaning is.  Basically, it means you should never say what you are going to do.  Just go do it, and it will speak for itself.

Before I got into Jiu Jitsu, I used to waste my breath all the time.  I would say I was going to do something.  Then to put pressure on myself, I would tell others about my goal.  I would even talk as if it was already achieved.  However, when it came down to doing it, I never lived up to my end of the bargain, even though I had every honest intention of doing so.

When I got into Jiu Jitsu, that changed pretty quickly.  When you grapple with someone, it does not matter much what you say when you are on the mat and they are choking the life out of you.  The truth speaks for itself.  Well, I’ve found the same goes for life, except for the choking part.

In life, I used to make the same mistake.  I would say one thing, hoping I will reach that goal, only to spend future hours making excuse after excuse on why it did not happen.  The trick is to save your breath, cause it actually is harmful.

Don’t say a word about your personal goals to anyone or you may drastically increase the chances of not achieving it!!!!

Reaching a goal makes us feel great.  We all feel like champions when we set out to do something and achieve it through hard work.  The day we reach that goal, it feels great hearing people speak about it.  Just the simple fact that others know what you have done makes you feel good inside, even if no one ever says a word.  It is a personal satisfaction quite unlike any other.

This satisfaction is what we are after when we speak to others about our goals before we reach them.  We are actually fishing for some satisfaction out of the fact we want to do something.  The problem is, once we speak about it, and get a small sample of that satisfaction, the desire usually starts to fade.

Even if you do talk about a goal, and then actually accomplish it, it can feel empty, like it is missing something.  Talking about a goal let’s others tell you how wonderful it is if you reach it.  If you tell them again when you accomplish the goal, they simply will say ‘Oh, great job.  I am so proud of you.”

How many times have you heard something as lame as that?  It’s like a pre-recorded message on a phone system.  The reason for this is they have already shared in that experience when you told them about it, so the wonder and amazement has already been used up.

Now, compare this with not saying a word about your goal.  You don’t tell anyone anything about it.  You just go out there, work hard, and achieve it.  Then, next time you are with your friends, instead of talking about something, you show them what you’ve already accomplished.  You experience all the joy and satisfaction out of the sincere amazement they display.  It is an incredible moment that can even inspire you to go out an achieve another goal.

So take a cue from the family of the only undefeated Heavyweight Champ in boxing history:  Save your breath and just go out there and DO IT!

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Progress is an obvious key to attaining any goal you desire. With every goal, you have a starting point, and then you have your goal, which is the end point.  In between is where the progression happens.  However, the path of progression is no escalator.  It does not continually go up until you reach your destination.  This is what many people fail to understand when they set out to accomplish a goal.

Sometimes you take 5 steps back to take 10 steps forward.

Judging your progress day to day can be extremely taxing on your mind.  If you need some reassurance during a particularly bad time of little or no progress, simply do your research.  Find out if others have faced similar trials in their attempts.  Chances are, you are not alone.

Information is abundant and microseconds away these days.  Many people have attempted to do countless things and then logged them on the worldwide web.  We can all learn from their trials and tribulations and apply those lessons to our individual goals.  Successful people do not get discouraged when they hit a wall in their progress.  Instead, they look at the big picture.

For example, a person who becomes a millionaire does not make the same amount of money each month until doing so.  There was probably a myriad of transactions to get to that point.  Some of those transactions were good and some of them were probably mistakes in hindsight.  The point is, during the mistakes, the millionaire did not quit or give up hope.  They simply road out the rough times aware that a bright future lies ahead if they just keep going.  That’s why if they lost the million, making it again will never be as hard.  The belief is already there.

No one is going to be able to guarantee you success in anything.  They can show you the way, lay it in front of your face, or hit you over the head with it.  It does not matter if you don’t make the consistent effort to get there.  Sometimes, the effort can seem worthless.  It is these bad days that people think of quitting or giving up.  The naysayers in their life become louder.  The thoughts start to permeate their actions.  The excuses flow like a water mane from their tongue.

No one said it would be easy.

Achieving any goal takes hard work.  Achieving life long goals takes patience.  Remember that on the bad days.  Progress is measured overall, not day by day.  So keep your head up, and keep on at it!

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