Episode Transcript
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Coming up in episode five of Motivation Monday,
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I was trying to pick myself back up.
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I was trying to get my business off the ground.
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I was trying to get in a few clients. It had been a few tough months at that stage, and I remember
0:15
that I had read the book from Mark Manson.
0:18
Sorry, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F,
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and that's the first place where I came across this,
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because at this stage in his life, Bukowski was actually working in a post office
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and he wasn't making a lot of money. His writing career was a failure,
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and he came across the opportunity to partner with this gentleman here.
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The idea is that Bukowski partnered with him
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and he took a gamble on himself,
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knowing that when he wrote, he would not be making enough money even to survive.
0:44
I reached that stage in my life
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and I decided that things were going to change.
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I was either going to starve or I was going to make something of myself.
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And what I did was incredible.
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For days, 18 hours per day, every single day
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except the Sabbath, because I'm a Seventh Day Adventist,
1:00
I would put in hours of work.
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I didn't want friends to bother me. I didn't want the phone notification to go off.
1:08
If it was a prospect that wasn't sure about working
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with our business, I didn't have time for them.
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I wanted to get settled into doing meaningful work.
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And what happened was that I was going all the way.
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I decided that it was starve
1:20
or it was success and I don't like starving, so it had to be success.
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And within three months things changed. Today, in episode five of Motivation Monday,
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we want to talk a little bit about one of my more inspired
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and liked authors. I haven't read much of this books,
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but I've read a bit about his life story
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and that person is Charles Bukowski. he is quite an interesting figure.
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I once called him an anthropologist, psychologist, writer and madman.
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Today we're going to look at one of that madman's lessons
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because there's a bit of wisdom
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that we need to garner from it on our journey to success.
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So we're going to read a story that speaks about an instance
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where Charles Bukowski came upon
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that ultimately helped him decide on his journey
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to being successful as a writer.
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It says here from HoneyCopy.com
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fearless underground poet and novelist Charles Bukowski on
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going all the way. And this was posted all the way in December 2019.
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That tenacious writer and poet that wrote at a staggering pace.
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It is rumored he wrote his debut book, The Post Office, in a little over three weeks.
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While he's seen as a misogynist, he won't say that word because of the YouTube algorithm -
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by some and a champion of the sixties
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and seventies, working class by others.
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One thing can be said for sure,
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Bukowski knew a thing or two about going all the way.
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And that's why we're here. We need to achieve unprecedented success.
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We are those who were told that we won't be able to do it,
3:09
that we won't amount to anything. And so to fight against those odds,
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we're going to need to go all the way.
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At 49 years old. After decades of writing,
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he left his job at the post office where not a dime
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in retirement to partner with a legendary literary agent and publisher
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John Martin. In one letter he shared, he said, I have one of two choices.
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Stay in the post office and go crazy
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or stay out here and play at writer and starve.
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I have decided to starve. for the next 24 years
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Bukowski wrote like a maniac shelling out nearly 60 books and thousands of poems.
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In one of these books, Factotum,
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he wrote something that changed a lot of people's lives.
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Mine included. And not only the author here but mine also.
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it says here.
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If you're going to try, go all the way.
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Otherwise, don't even start.
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This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, and maybe even your mind.
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It could mean not eating for three or four days.
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It could mean freezing on the park bench. It could mean jail.
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It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, Isolation - isolation is a gift.
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All the others are a test of your endurance,
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of how much you really want to do it, and you'll do it
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despite rejection. And the worst odds. And
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it will be better than anything else you can imagine.
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If you're going to try, go all the way.
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There's no other feeling like that.
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You'll be alone with the gods and the nights will flame with fire.
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You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. it’s the only good fight there is.
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I took this quote to heart.
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And the reason why I say I took it to heart is because I remember I was going through a tough situation in my life
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quite recently. I had just lost my fiancee, sad to say.
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Not to death, like she left.
5:13
All right. So motivation Monday has humor, huh?
5:16
and I was trying to pick myself back up.
5:19
I was trying to get my business off the ground.
5:21
I was trying to get in a few clients. It had been a few tough months at that stage.
5:25
And I remember that I had read the book from Karl from Mark Manson, Sorry,
5:33
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F, and that's the first place
5:35
where I came across this, because at this stage in his life,
5:38
Bukowski was actually working in a post office
5:41
and he wasn't making a lot of money. His writing
5:44
career was a failure and he came across the opportunity to partner with this gentleman here.
5:49
And the idea is that there wasn't a lot of money
5:52
that he would make from writing with this gentleman
5:55
because he had not done anything worthwhile.
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But this gentleman saw something in him.
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This gentleman's name is John Martin,
6:02
and he was a legendary literary agent and publisher,
6:05
according to this article. The idea is that Bukowski partnered with him
6:09
and he took a gamble on himself,
6:11
knowing that when he wrote, he would not be making enough money even to survive.
6:15
I reached that stage in my life
6:17
and I decided that things were going to change.
6:20
I was either going to starve, or I was going to make something of myself, and what I did was incredible.
6:26
for days, 18 hours per day, every single day
6:29
except the Sabbath, because I'm a Seventh Day Adventist.
6:32
I would put in hours of work.
6:35
I didn't want friends to bother me. I didn't want the phone notification to go off.
6:39
If it was a prospect that wasn't sure about working with our business
6:41
I didn't have time for them. I wanted to get settled into doing meaningful work.
6:46
And what happened was that I was going all the way.
6:49
I decided that it was starve or
6:51
It was success and I don't like starving, so it had to be success.
6:55
And within three months things changed.
6:57
You have to decide for yourself
7:00
how much you're willing to sacrifice, the price you are willing to pay
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to be successful. Are you willing to miss out on parties,
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family dinners, the Christmas dinners, girlfriends, boyfriends, family
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enemies? Are you willing to give up a nicer car,
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a sweet place to live just so you can have more money
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to invest in your dream, in your goal, in your vision?
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If you aren't willing to do it, who will?
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Why should the employee believe in your dream when you don't?
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And that is the idea that we're getting here from Charles Bukowski.
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If you're going to go, go all the way
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and this comes back to episode two,
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the question that is continually asked every week,
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if you could do something that if you did it, it would change things.
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What would you do? Would you do it?
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And if you ask yourself that question
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and you give yourself the time required to think deeply about it,
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this isn't the question you're going to ask yourself And immediately the answer comes.
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You're going to have to ask yourself, What could I do
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that I would do that if I did it, it would make things better?
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And when you ask yourself that question
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and you give yourself the time required to think about,
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you're going to get an answer Like Jordan Peterson always says “you're going to get an answer,
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It's not going to be the answer that you want,
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but it's going to be the necessary one.”
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Maybe, just maybe, you need to stop messing around with that boy or that girl
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That means, you know, good those friends
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that talk behind your back that say, oh, he's never going to amount to anything
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and she's never going to amount to anything. maybe you need to get rid of that.
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The social circle you're in, that's going nowhere.
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But Parties and drunk on the weekends.
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And then when Monday come they say FML and they're tired
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and they can't wait until it’s Friday to do the whole thing over again.
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Maybe you need to let go of that. You're toxic parents
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that don't believe in you, that speak ill of you, that don't inspire you, don't drive you,
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that don't motivate you. Maybe you need to let go of them.
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If you're going to go, go all the way.
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And if you don't do it, if you don't care enough to sacrifice everything
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so that your dreams become a reality,
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why should a bank invest in your business?
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Why should they lend you money? Why should your parents believe in you?
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why Should your friends believe in you? Why should your spouse, your girlfriend, your boyfriend?
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Why should your friends, your enemies, believe in you?
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If you don't believe in yourself, why should anyone? It starts with you.
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I don't like the victim mentality.
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As we discussed in episode three.
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With responsibility comes power.
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I am challenging you today.
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Take responsibility for being a success, for being happy,
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for being complete, for a living, a life that's worth living,
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for achieving things that are worth
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writing a story about, worth reading, worth passing down to
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Generations. put in the sacrifice, put in the hours Start today
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10 minutes. Pick up that book that you've always been flaking on.
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Start that new course.
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You know, go out and get that new lesson that you've wanted to
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perhaps get your license.
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Perhaps it's a new shift so you can get a car and do Uber,
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whatever it is that you've been flaking on.
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And you know that if you do this,
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if this works, then things will change for you.
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Then get started. For 10 minutes today, just 10 minutes.
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Just get started. If you have problems
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getting started and remaining consistent with the work that's required for success,
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there's a book right here. Or maybe it's here.
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Atomic Habits by James Clear.
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Read that book and let's get going.
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This has been episode five of Motivation Monday.
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I'm your host, Jabez Roberts. If you are starting a business
10:56
or if you run a small business and you want to be successful, hit subscribe.
11:00
If you want help with motivation and how to be successful on your journey
11:04
to making something of yourself hit subscribe
11:06
and we will take care of the know-
11:09
how, the technicalities, The step by step, the journey.
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You can't do it alone. And that's why we are here,
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because we are on a mission to help 1 million small businesses succeed by 2030.
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Let us help you to take care until next time.
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