Rather than waiting for destiny, I am a fan of action, but the problem with a lot of us is, we are constantly searching for that one piece of information that will change our lives. Now, what if I shared with you today exactly that information? Would you be willing to really give it a try and see the transformative powers of finally having the right mental and physical tools to conquer your dreams? 

Many of us have a big problem, a problem that may not have even been in our control and our fault to begin with, but ever since it was bestowed upon us we have been experiencing all of its negative effects. And the saddest part; it was most likely given to us by those who love us the most — and in almost every case, their intentions were the purest of all. But instead of attacking this head-on, let me give you some context first.

Think of the last time you got an email from a gallery you applied to for a show. The excitement, the joy of anticipation that such a reply produces every time — finally I’ll be able to prove myself! And upon opening, the message reads:

“Dear So and So,

we thank you for your interest in the This And That exhibition. We have reviewed you work and find it interesting and well made. We would also like to inform you, that due to the large number of applications, we were unable to include all of the applicants into our show, therefore your application was sadly denied.

Best of luck in your career.

Sincerely, 

Some Gallerist”

We might get angry or sad when we don’t get a chance to show our work at that gallery we always wanted to exhibit — a gallery, that would have been perfect for our work! We cannot fully understand why people don’t want to showcase and buy our wonderful artworks, while many of the others we know are constantly getting exhibited and their sales are through the roof!

And we weren’t lazy; we apply for a show every month or two, we even took a few hours to make our Etsy shop the way that famous YouTuber said we should, yet nothing is happening. We do all of the work and reap none of the rewards!

But we’ve forgotten an important fact.

We’ve forgotten that we only sent out generic emails, when asking about exhibition opportunities. We’ve never followed-up on them by calling or going to the gallery in person and asking for 5 min of the gallerist’s time or an option to get those 5 min sometime next week. We’ve actually never even been to one of their openings, let alone mingled with anyone who works there! 

We also took the first no as being written in stone. Sometimes, we even trash-talked about them to our friends; how rude they were not to have had the time to talk to us — it would have taken just 5 minutes anyway — how they just don’t get what our art is about. How the art world is unfair to all of us geniuses, and how they’re obviously too dumb and posh to know what real talent is.

Entitlement.

The biggest mental pathogen of our society today. Born from overly loved kids who were underexposed to the realities of life, given to them by truly loving parents, friends and family, who only had the best intentions. It’s not their fault, and it surely isn’t ours for being where we are now as a generation. But it is causing havoc in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.

If there is one shortcut to being successful in anything, it is not to believe in being entitled to it — regardless if you’re royalty or an average Joe or Jolene from the streets — nothing in this world is given to us “just because”.

Instead of wasting your time building grudges, planing revenge on those who have wronged you and contemplating why your current situation doesn’t match your ideals, start doing the hard work it takes. Stay humble and give love to yourself and to those around you — not even the oldest of friendships is safe from self-entitlement, and neither are our own bodies, so stay fit.

Do the things you know in your gut to be truly good, not the things that make you look good. And most importantly, start thinking about what you can give for others, not what they can give to you. And show your teeth when others demand too much. 

Shortcuts only work if they take less time to produce the results we would’ve gotten without them. But there is no free lunch, and unlike all the “Get rich quick” schemes, we have to pay the price for accelerated results in the appropriate currency — effort. If we want something quicker, better, more effective, we have to put in more effort. 

Only those who are prepared to pay the piper and actually put down their deposits, will ever hear that sweet music of success, while everyone else just wants to dance for free.