ROUND 3! MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON TREES?

This is so true! Yet, I find in my daily adventures so many people think life and things will be handed to them on a silver platter. I also find that people who are in bad, rough or even dire situations seem to not give much thought to how they are going to escape their plight. Today we are going to help you see the truth about moving forward.

Money definitely doesn’t grow on trees, right? It can seem unfortunate at times that our society and our culture has wrapped itself so tightly around money that people will kill, destroy their own lives, or hurt others to get it. We have built a society that truly revolves around it. For many people it can be really tough to navigate when they haven’t been taught how money works and people will make all kinds of awful decisions to try and achieve any kind of financial status, even the bare minimum lifestyle.

Here is the kicker, money really isn’t everything. A lot of people seek it like it is some kind of Holy Grail to happiness when it really isn’t. I have known a vast amount of people who have gobs of money and are miserable, I don’t think it’s a rule of course. But money is no guarantee of happiness. I have also met people who live check to check, have kids and not much in the way of things that are completely happy. I often envy those people.

Money and getting it can make life complicated. The more you want, the more you have to be devoted to it meaning you are not available. This is how a lot of people tend to kind of “sell their soul” so to speak. So, let’s say you are married and have kids but you want your family to have that big house on the hill and all the cool cars and swimming pool so they can be thankful you are the man of the house. Well, guess what, you won’t be around to enjoy it let alone watch them enjoy it. Then there can be huge amounts of resentment because you are never around making for an unstable or unhappy household which thereby defeats the purpose of what you set out to do in the first place.

And to the single people who think that if they just had a million dollars, they could party til the sun comes up every day well, you are in the worst boat because what you don’t understand about a million dollars is that it doesn’t go very far when you only care about the party life. It costs money to party, a LOT! These are the people who pretty much always lose everything in the end and end up worse than when they started.

This might seem like a negative viewpoint, but I definitely do not have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I have seen the scenario play out. In order to gain money, even just enough to get by, you’re going to have to work. Work isn’t all bad. Most people who hate to work are usually lazy or have a warped view of what work really is. If you’re lazy, you’re going to have to change. Period. For those of you with that warped view of work, sit down, I have some great news for you.

First, we look at work, or a job, wrong, almost all of the time. I have met many people who look at their job as merely a steppingstone to get somewhere else in life and that is OK but many of these people that I have come across end up in the same place 5 years later. Why is that? I’ll tell you why, because they don’t know what they are doing. They are chasing a completely unrealistic dream.

We are told, especially today, to follow your dreams! Follow your heart! YOU are a winner! YOU are great! Parents 60 and 80 years ago were more like: “GET TO WORK”! And you did! A happy medium needs to be found as in today’s average life, our parents, our government have more of an attitude of YOU shouldn’t have to suffer at your job! YOU shouldn’t have to work that hard! YOU need a mental health day! Don’t take any crap from your boss! YOU are the most important!

This is all wrong! It only feeds our egos and when “the world” doesn’t play nice guess what, our feelings get hurt, we are offended and often we either retaliate in negative ways or become subdued only exposing our egos as delusional. I would ask, what do YOU dream about? What do YOU have in YOUR heart? What is YOUR idea of being a winner? I would bet that for most people these results would be completely unrealistic for the skill level and mental or emotional integrity that they possess.

Are your feelings hurt yet? Sweet! Let’s talk about how to fix it! Are you stuck in that burdensome job that will never take you anywhere? Great! Let’s MAKE IT take you somewhere! Let’s say you work at McDonald’s. You work at the register. You’ve been working at the register and cleaning the lobby and bathrooms for a year, you make $15/hr. because your government insisted that it was a great living wage. Here is the problem with that, it’s aiming low, very low, for what you desire is much higher than you are reaching.

Since you have been stuck in limbo for a year, start showing interest in other things. Ask if you can be on the cooking line, ask if you can be involved in other aspects of the job, whatever you don’t do that see others doing. When I say others I mean anyone who works in that store, including the managers! Yes, that’s right, WANT THEIR JOBS!! This doesn’t mean you have to get them fired, quite the opposite. It means, that you get to lift them up and help them move on to their next position. Once you take their jobs, you will need to teach the people below you to take your job.

As ridiculous as it may sound, this is how it all works. What are you doing for others? If it is only your heart and dreams to be a servant to yourself, then if you are broke and stuck you are exactly where you deserve to be. Life isn’t about YOU, it is about everyone. As I am sure everyone has heard, “You reap what you Sow”, sowing means to plant seeds, reaping means to collect the harvest. If you are only planting seeds into your greedy self-centered dreams then the problem is obvious, it’s YOU! You don’t care about anyone but yourself. Name one person who is successful that did by themselves. You can’t, it’s impossible.

As an owner of three companies, I can honestly say that I could never have gone this far without other people, from the lowest in my life to the highest. I NEEDED them. Develop relationships with people that are above you. Admit that they are above you so that you can serve them well so that you may then be served. We all have to pay our dues. So, moving along, let’s say you work your way up to Shift Manager. Congrats! You’re making another couple dollars an hour, doesn’t exactly buy you a house right? Sure it does, it will just take more time and work. Now that you are outperforming your peers and have worked your way up to Shift Manager, the Assistant Store Manager position suddenly becomes available. Make no mistake about it, you will at least be considered for that position that will make you another $5/per hour. Then, at what point do you end up with an opportunity to be the Store Manager? Now you can make another $5-10/hr. more.

Here is where you compound your efforts, you start out at this register job and within a few years can be running the whole store. Do you have any idea how much experience you just gained? And you didn’t even need to get $100,000 in debt for a college degree. You actually got paid to learn! Now, let’s say you spend 5 or ten years in the McDonald’s Corp. You could seek opportunities to be a regional manager or even move into another job market with your management experience that could make you even more money!  

Now let’s shift a little focus to the nay sayers, the people who always have an excuse like that the bosses don’t like them or have attitude problems. GET OVER IT! If you really want to make it in life you need to stop whining and understand that you will have to suffer sometimes. I certainly don’t condone managers treating their crew members badly, but it is just going to happen. Instead of fighting it, try to be on their side, try to figure out how you can make their day easier. This is what it is all about.

INVEST into your job with your time, your attitude, your care and you will find that it WILL come back to you. Do this and your “job” will become something you never expected a career! Get into work today and change your mindset to, “I am going to make this company some money today”! Start saying that everyday and you will see yourself start to change. Your alternative is to quit and move on to the next crappy job. After 10 years and you are still broke, you won’t need to ask why, just remember, “You will never get anywhere if you keep starting over”.

ROUND 2! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM YOUR LIFE?

What do you want? Money? Fame? Power? Free pizza for life? Well, I have news for you, YOU CAN’T HAVE IT! Not unless you identify it, and work for it! Nowadays I find that people mostly just want to get by, there doesn’t seem to be much of a really need to have the finer things life or even just modesty. Many people seem to be reaching for just the bare necessities.

What Do You Want From Your Life?

Good morning! How often do you wake up not wanting to go to work, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to clean your room or house? How often do you just not want to do anything? What do you do when those feelings hit? What do you want to do?

If your answer is something like, “I just want to smoke weed and play video games all day,” you might want to skip this blog. But if you’re feeling stuck and deep down you want things to be different, this post is for you. It’s for people who are ready to take action, get results, and start moving forward in life.

Here at The Tough Fight, we believe in shaking off the excuses and helping you see what you’re really capable of. And it all starts with one simple question: What do you want from your life?

It amazes me how different people’s answers can be. I’ve heard everything from “I want to be a millionaire” to “I want to provide a good life for my family.” Let me ask you: What do YOU want from YOUR life?

Take a moment. Grab something to write with. Write that question down.

Now, let me tell you a story about a guy who used to work for me. He was going through some tough times—struggling financially and in other areas of his life. It was easy to see where things were going wrong for him. He lived in his car with his wife and two toddlers on and off, spent most of his money on weed, and wasn’t making decisions that would improve his situation.

I sat him down one day and asked him the same question I just asked you: “What do you want from your life?” His response was, “I just want to give my family a good life and for them to be able to count on me for anything.”

At first, that might sound like a stand-up answer. But when we broke it down, it revealed a deeper problem. The words he used showed how stuck he felt—like he was waiting for something to change instead of making change happen.

This isn’t to shame him or anyone else in a similar position. Life gets hard. We all struggle. But we can’t let our struggles define us or keep us from moving forward.

Changing Your Mindset

We rewrote his statement to say, “I will give my family a great life, and they will be able to count on me for anything.” A few small changes, but the meaning is huge. It shifts from a place of helplessness to one of strength.

For a couple of months, that shift in mindset worked for him. Then he made a decision that set him back—buying a rundown trailer in Shreveport for $6,000. The trailer wasn’t even legally owned by the person who sold it to him. He moved his family there, but things fell apart quickly.

I could have lectured him about bad decisions, but instead, I just listened. Sometimes people need to go through their own struggles to learn. It’s not about being perfect or never making mistakes; it’s about how you handle those setbacks.

Eventually, I had to let him go from his job because of ongoing issues, but I still look back and think about the lesson. This is what happens when you don’t have a clear vision for your life or the tools to achieve it.

You Can Make It Happen

So, what about you? Have you asked yourself what you want from your life? Maybe it’s a specific salary, a degree, or peace of mind. Whatever it is, you can achieve it—but it takes effort, consistency, and sometimes, a little tough love.

In the last 20 years of running my landscaping business, I’ve met so many people—young and old—who had no idea they could be successful. It’s like no one had ever told them that achieving their goals is possible. That’s one of the reasons The Tough Fight exists—to remind you that success isn’t reserved for a select few. You can have it, too.

I’ve seen guys who didn’t think they could fix a single piece of equipment, come to realize they were more capable than they ever imagined. Yes, it was hard at first. Yes, they wanted to quit. But in the end, they accomplished something they didn’t think they could. And that’s the point—you are capable of more than you think.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, some people don’t want to be led. Many would rather escape reality than face it head-on. But for those of you ready to fight for more—The Tough Fight is here to help you develop a plan and take action.

The road might not be easy, but you don’t have to walk it alone. We’re here to offer guidance, support, and yes, sometimes, a little tough love. Stay tuned for more advice and motivation to help you take control of your life. It’s going to take YOU—but you’re more capable than you realize.

So for right now, ask yourself, what do you want from your life.

ROUND 1!

Welcome to The Tough Fight! We’re here to provide inspiration, motivation, and a touch of honest humor through our affordable and fun shirts. Perfect for birthdays, holidays, or just because, our shirts make great gifts for anyone you know.

At The Tough Fight, we’re committed to creating high-quality shirts that resonate with people’s hearts and minds. But our mission goes beyond that. We aim to support those who are less fortunate by helping them learn how to improve their lives. As we grow, we want our community to grow with us. Join us in this movement to understand life, navigate the world with confidence, and overcome challenges with a sense of purpose.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our blog where we're all about helping you turn your dreams into reality. In 2024, the world is evolving rapidly, and it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve. As someone from Generation X, I see a blend of traditional and modern values in our society, and I understand the challenges that come with that.

Many people feel entitled to success without putting in the work, but true achievement comes from dedication and effort. Our goal is to provide guidance and support to help you make better decisions and take charge of your life. We want to help you move from where you are now to where you want to be.

If you find our message inspiring, be sure to check back regularly! We’ll be posting new content at least once a month to keep you motivated and on track.