A lot of businesspeople talk about jobs as if they’re the poisoned elixir of life… slowly killing our passion for what means the most to us. And let’s be honest, many are. But I don’t want to make a sweeping generalization that demonizes all jobs. Some are respectable professions.

Here are just a few occupations I think people pursue with passion:

- Law Enforcement
- Fire Fighting
- Medicine
- Teaching

And there are many more. The truth is that when people genuinely pursue their careers with enthusiasm, they live their lives to the fullest. It brings them fulfillment and they’re content. They couldn’t want for more.

This is a very small percentage though. If you want to get to the bottom line of the situation, the real fact is most people don’t mind their jobs. They’re somewhat comfortable doing what they do.

They just can’t stand the people.

That’s right…

PEOPLE are the POISON.

Guarding yourself from subtle negativity from other people is critical. On your journey to becoming a 2%er, you’ll find that you need to be more discreet in your “people selection” process.

Listen, becoming a 2%er isn’t difficult, but it takes consistent action. And one of the key factors is making sure you associate with other 2%ers. Everyone won’t be a 2%er, but make sure they’re in the mix of your daily life.

If you have to pay for access to a 2%er, don’t hesitate. By all means, do it. Do whatever it takes to get your mind on the right track. Since you don’t know what you don’t know, you’ll need someone who is laser-focused on success to show you the way. The 98%ers can’t do that; they will only validate your current situation, making it feel like “you’re okay” and “everything’s good.” You need someone to act as a change agent in your life.

That is, unless you’re okay with A-V-E-R-A-G-E.

And the fact is that on the J-O-B, average is what you get most of the time. And have you ever wondered why?

Let’s think of a few key words that describe many people’s work situations:

BOREDOM.

PASSIONLESS.

CREATIVELY DEAD.

It’s no wonder that people go through each work day running on automatic pilot. It’s boring! Let’s examine the 10-Point J-O-B cycle we’re all familiar with….

1. Look for a job.

2. Find a job you “like.”

3. Submit your resume to the job.

4. Interview for the job.

5. Get the job.

6. Learn the job.

7. Get good at the job.

8. Show up every day at the job, and do the same thing you did yesterday.

9. Then the inevitable happens; you become extremely bored with the job.

10. Then you look for another job, hoping it won’t be as boring as your current job.

This scenario applies to 98% of jobs. I see this cycle happen again and again to people. And the sad reality is that they rinse and repeat and treat their lives as if the only thing important is “security.”

Two things always happen when you accept this 10-Point Job Cycle of Death.

1. Your creativity dies. Your creativity is what separates you from the rest of the world. Your validation comes from God, not people. He made you with specific attributes that if utilized correctly, you can go as far as you want to go in life. But until you find out exactly where your creativity lies, it will be extremely hard to become a 2%er.

2. You’ll become extremely bored. When your income becomes capped at a certain amount, you’ll die a slow, average death. Money solves problems that not having money creates. I would hate to be in a position where someone else is going to tell ME what I’ll make, when I’ll make it, and the most I’ll ever make… and then tell me when to eat, when to take vacation, etc. Do me a favor. Just shoot me if I ever have to go through that again.

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, do an inventory of your life ASAP and figure out which direction you want to go in. It starts now. Every day is precious. Treat it that way.

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Do you ever blame everyone but yourself for the problems in your life? If so, stop! Only losers do that. And if you’re reading my blog there’s a good chance you’re striving to be what I call a 2%er—one of the small percentage of people who actually GET what I’m about to tell you.

Listen, the moment I decided never to blame anybody else for my problems, my life got better, much better. And it happened just as suddenly as I made that decision. I simply decided to own every choice I made from that day forward.

You can change your life, too, just by making the decision to be accountable for everything…starting today. Your failures. Your successes. I mean everything.

And, if someone else is trying to suck out every last bit of your passion and inject subtle negativity into your life, stop it right now. They will kill everything you’ve worked hard for. If you’re making excuses for all your problems, you need to jumpstart your winning attitude right now.

First, be honest with yourself. Are you a winner or a whiner? The only way to make positive changes in your life is to acknowledge what’s real.

Here are five ways you can distinguish a loser from a 2%er.

1. Losers say the word “maybe” more than “yes.” This allows losers to create loopholes to back out of any formal agreement or commitment to anyone.

2. Losers talk more than they listen. For every insecure person I know, the common denominator is that he or she talks much more than they listen.

3. Losers use the word “but” after anything positive and normally follow that with a negative statement. This is common with losers. Just when something positive or uplifting comes out of their mouths, it’s followed up with a negative statement that devalues the breakthrough that could have happened if they would have truly believed the value of following their hearts.

4. Losers never take personal responsibility for anything. It’s normally someone else’s fault for whatever goes wrong in their lives. This is the most common trait I see in losers. Believe me, in my eight years in the Air Force I worked with more whiners, blamers, and complainers than you could possibly imagine.

I think that’s why most entrepreneurs need to exit their jobs quickly. It’s so draining to work in negative environments with negative people. It takes so much self-talk on the drive home to get your mind back to a winner’s perspective that it becomes hard to even show up at the job anymore.

5. Losers are great liars. It’s so hard to catch them blatantly but you just feel it. Sometimes you won’t even be able to tell this person apart from a winner for a year or two. That’s because they don’t often have the first four traits I mentioned beforehand. And losers are so good at telling little lies that they actually believe their own stories. I’ve been duped before. These people are tricky, so you really have to pay attention.

Now, let me wrap this up by clarifying the two types of losers you’re likely to come into contact with in your life.

The first type doesn’t know he’s a loser yet. Maybe he has crappy parents, crappy friends, etc. Of course, you can’t choose your parents but you can choose your friends. But that’s beside the point. The point is that this person needs YOUR help. He can succeed with a mentor or a friend who cares about him and guides him. To be honest, 99% of the time this person just needs some encouragement and love to thrive.

The real problem is the second type of loser. These people simply don’t care. They know they make stupid decisions. They know they make excuses. They do things like blame the “economy” because they’re broke, blame their bosses because they don’t get paid well, etc. These people just don’t care.

The sad part is that they’ll most likely be a loser for the rest of their lives because they’ll never take personal responsibility for anything. Since they’ll never recognize their true potential, all we can do is pray for them because God their only hope.

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