How Cee Lo Green Taught Me to Achieve
Ive got to make a confession. On November 9, 2010, my life changed. You see I was minding my own business, watching the Colbert Report, and saw Cee Lo Green pick up the microphone to finish the show by singing his hit single Forget You (aka [expletive deleted] You).
Since that day, that song has been playing in my head non-stopfor almost 6 months now. (By the way, if you havent heard it yet, open up YouTube and listen before reading further). Well wait, I'll put it right here. If you've seen this, skip it and scroll passed the video.
With a song stuck in my head for 6 months straight I had two options:
Ive never been all that productive of a person. You see, Ive always waited until I was good enough until I started taking meaningful action. I would do tons of work trying to become good enough, but since thats a pretty vague goal I tended to get stuck always preparing to take real action. I would rarely accomplish something meaningful.
Luckily Cee Lo stepped in. You see, in Forget You he tells a beautiful story: guy loves girl, guy sees girl in a car with a rich dude, guy gets angry that he wasnt rich enough for her, guy says screw this. He sings, I guess the change in my pocket wasnt enough Im like, forget you! And moves on. He could have sang, I guess the change in my pocket wasnt enough Im likewell, I guess Ill get a second job, try to invest wisely, and eventually win you over. Not quite as catchy.
The wise Cee Lo realized that it wasnt worth wishing he had more money, or waiting until he got his Ferrari. If that girl wasnt going be with himforget her. Realistically, even if he did w! ait unti l he got that cash, car, and xbox, that girl still wouldnt want him (or by then he would have been over her). So he started from where he was, not from where he hoped to be one day.
What does any of this have to do with real world achievement?
On one hand, most of us want our life to change in some way. On the other hand, most of us are waiting for something before we can really take action. Were waiting to finish a class, get a promotion, have a new situation, or find a direction. Many of us think that if only we had that one thing in our life happen, then we could start making progress.
- I need a perfect outline before I write that essay or blog post
- I need the perfect work out and diet plan before I start exercising
- I need the perfect website, traffic, blog, or product before I can start an online business
- I need to wait for the right time before I quite the job I hate
Start achieving like Cee Lo
Im not telling you to go record a hit record (although if you do, referencing Mr. Ts catchphrase like Cee Lo does in Forget You is always the right choice). Instead, pick the one biggest goal you currently have in your life. Got it? Okay, I dont care if youre starting at zero in pursuing that goal. I dont care how much you have to learn before you can really do it. The most important thing you can possibly do is to say forget you to whatever you think you need to do before you act. Figure out how to take your first step now.
Dont be like Cee Lo was before his Forget You kick. He had to borrow, beg and! steal a nd lie and cheat, trying to keep the girl. In the same way, youd have to work your ass off to get to a point where you are good enough to start taking real world action. Screw the ideal. Start from where you are right now.
P.S. Ive not consulted Cee Lo, but Im pretty sure were best friends and he probably agrees with everything in this warped interpretation of his catchy song lyrics. Sorry Cee Lo if youre being misrepresented here!
Written on 5/14/2011 Joey, an online business guy who loves talking about making actual accomplishments (not just theoretical personal development stuff). Check out his current project at http://findyourdamnpurpose.com. If you want your life to change, but dont know how to get started, click to check out the 100% free video course on finding a useful purpose.Photo Credit: Travis Hornung
