Why You Should Ignore Most People's Advice on How to be Successful

When I was younger, I thought I had a great understanding of how to be successful. I grew up in Moorpark, a small suburban town right outside of Los Angeles. I knew what success looked like. I saw it around me all the time. Big house, nice cars, and plenty more. Almost every weekend I would ask my parents to drive me out to Los Angeles to spend time there. I was inspired by all of the wealth, and it motivated me to reach that level. The problem was, I didn't know how to get there.

My friends and I would always talk about becoming rich, but none of us knew what it took. We were just high school kids. We were more concerned with going out and having fun. So I started looking for other people to learn from to be successful.

There's Just One Problem

There was one major issue that I failed to consider when I started talking to others. Most people aren't successful. At least, not according to my definition of success. You see, a large percentage of people look successful from the outside, but it's just a facade. They might have a big house and nice cars, but they aren't wealthy. A lot of these people are overwhelmed with debt and other money problems. They don't have much in savings and they spend more than they earn.

I bought into this ideology and started making a bunch of mistakes. I bought a really nice car that was way above my budget. I was going out frequently and spending a lot of money on food and drinks. I even bought a motorcycle. I was buying material things I didn't need just to portray an image of success. I was making pretty good money, but I didn't have much savings to show for it.

The sad thing was, everyone was complimenting me! I kept getting told how well I was doing. It felt good hearing people tell me these things, which made it even harder to resist spending more money. I had fallen into the trap.

The Turning Point

Luckily, I had parents who gave me great advice. My dad was constantly advising me against these big purchases and wanted me to cut down on my spending. I began to realize that this wasn't the way to become wealthy. I had to change if I was ever going to reach the level of success that I wanted.

I started trying to get rid of everything I could. I had so much junk that I didn't need. I gave away a lot of my clothes. I sold some of my other items. I listed my motorcycle for sale (I kept the car. I never said I was perfect). I worked on decluttering my life so I could focus on running my business.

It worked. I'm not concerned with what others think anymore. I've concentrated on cutting expenses and increasing my income. I now know that this is the true path to success. How was I supposed to learn how to be successful by asking people that don't know what success is themselves? It wasn't going to happen.

Conclusion

Advice from others can be extremely valuable. I highly recommend trying to find mentors in your life to learn from. The reason I wrote this article was to help others realize that they shouldn't believe everything they hear. If you want to learn how to fly a plane, ask someone who flies planes. If you want to learn how to get in shape, ask someone who's in great shape. If you want to learn how to be successful, ask someone who's successful.