My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [2]
Three weeks later, Tiffany and I met again at the tiny coffee shop. I was half expecting her to share some excuses as to why she hadn’t done anything. Instead, the look was gone.
Tiffany was so excited to tell me what happened since our last conversation that I had to get her to slow down so I could get the story straight: Tiffany had decided that she was sick and tired of being overworked and underappreciated, so she told her boss exactly what was on her mind. At first he was flustered and insulted. Then he blamed her for the situation. “At the end of the week I was ready to quit,” she said. “When suddenly my boss walks into my office, apologizes, and gives me a twenty-four-thousand-dollar raise and control of my schedule!”
We high-fived in the middle of the coffee shop!
Tiffany sipped her latte and then said, “I never saw how much control I had over my life until I used it. For a while there I really thought being unhappy was part of growing up and becoming an adult. I was scared. I was afraid that telling my boss how I felt might get me fired or make me look childish. I don’t feel that way anymore. In fact, I think my frustration was an alarm telling me it was time to be honest with myself and start doing what was best for me.”
Tiffany was beginning to see something that many twentysomethings overlook as they are pushed around in the real world: You choose your own path. You choose where you work. You choose whom you date. You choose where you live. You choose what you study. You choose what you do in your free time. You choose, and those choices strung together become your life.
One year later Tiffany did leave her job. She took a new position in a coastal town. Now she likes where she works and the people she works with, she has a serious boyfriend with talk of marriage on the horizon, and she hangs out at the beach on the weekends. What a life! And she made it all happen by courageously standing up for her life and herself.
Tiffany, like you, had the power all along to start creating a life that felt meaningful and right. The only person who doubted that was herself. Not anymore.
* * *
BOUNCED:
My happiness is out of my hands.
CASHED:
How I feel about my life is determined by how I choose to live my life.
* * *
LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE
You may think you found this book at just the right time. I think you’re right! This book’s message—to stand up and create the life you want—is precisely what you need to hear now. Part of your life, maybe the entire last few years, has left you wanting more meaning, inspiration, adventure, and purpose. It’s time you do something about it. By picking this book as your guide, you are also telling the world that you want to pave this path on your own terms.
What you need are not excuses, money-back guarantees, or group hugs but time-tested strategies to get you on a better course. You usually pick up these strategies after years of being promoted through the school of hard knocks. But you don’t want to wade through years of setbacks and sucker punches to learn how to feel alive. You want to use every resource and talent you can to get what you most want out of your life right now. Me, too!
Together we can.
Whether your vision for an awe-inspiring, meaningful life begins with
• Marrying your best friend
• Finding your life purpose
• Earning a promotion
• Starting your own business
• Graduating with a fancy degree
• Losing weight
• Climbing a mountain
• Changing the world
or something more intimate—you have an idea of what you want your life to look, feel, taste, smell, and sound like. At this precise moment, all that separates you from living that amazing experience are learning, action, and time.
Fortunately,
1. You have chosen to learn. This book will reveal what you need to know, some things you already know, and a few things you will never forget.
2. You control your actions. You determine when you apply