If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that when things seem like they are all good is when they go bad. Why is that? Why does a clear path create propensity for failure? The answer can be summed up in one word: complacency.
Struggle brings out the best in us. When the odds are against you and you have no choice but to hustle to make something of yourself, you are working your hardest. Once you achieve what you were working towards, a sense of accomplishment kicks in, which is simply a pre-cursor to complacency. Most of us are trying to get an internship for the summer or a job upon graduation. You have to grind, grind, and grind some more to beat the competition. But once you do it, it’s almost a natural reaction to coast and go through the motions. I am here to preach that that is the single most dangerous thing you can do to start your career.
Life is not easy. No one ever has nor will say that. You need to grind and hustle every damn day until you get your end goal. Dream, and dream BIG. Set a goal that you think is unattainable; this will keep fueling your hunger for more. Personally, I dream of being a billionaire. You might be thinking to yourself “Kareem, you’re crazy man. Billionaire? You’ll never get there”. You might be right about that. However, I will keep grinding it out every day and seek bigger and better opportunities to at least try to get there. At this age, it would be foolish to say none of us have the opportunity to be a billionaire or achieve our wildest dreams. On the contrary, we ALL have the opportunity; it’s just a matter of how bad you want it. In this competitive landscape we call earth, there is no room for complacency because someone is just waiting for you to slip up so they can take your spot and achieve their dreams.
To those who have jobs upon graduation- congratulations. You now have a leg up on 50% of college grads. If you want to keep rising do the following: relish it for a moment, drink an expensive drink, get a good night of sleep, and then wake up and figure out how you can move forward. Being stagnant is just as bad as moving backwards, so the only choice we have is to move forward.