The $26 Million Mentality

Ever since I kind of left social media, the one caveat I have refused to give up has been Instagram. You see, I like taking photos, editing them, and posting them. I like the art behind each of those steps, the process. Editing a photo to get it looking good is something I can understand (well mostly). In addition to this there are an abundance of so many different communities. From real great photographers that need no editing to show off their skills, to seeing what friends are doing, to even self-improvement, and how to be better as a man in this very upside-down world.

One account I follow is Sean Whalen (@seanwwhalen), who runs the Lions Not Sheep store. His entire stance on being a free man and the way he attacks life, is something that inspires me. You have to check him out! While his photos are mostly not great, his captions are full of truth. Recently, he touched on a topic, or thought, that has been on my mind for quite a while.

Sean and his friend were walking along the beach one day, and came across one of those super amazing beach mansions. You know the one – three story, beachside, with a massive pool and straight out of many people’s dreams. It also happened to be for sale. For the very modest price of only $26 million… This led to an interesting conversation between the two, but not about the money. You see, according to Sean, making $26 million is the easy part. Being the type of person who can and does make $26 million – thats the hard part.

They started asking themselves questions about the guy who would own, and then sell, a $26 million beachside mansion. And not the typical questions that many people would ask – how do I become like that, what car does he drive, or what job does he do. Stuff like what his day consisted of, what does he do in the morning, how does he treat his family, how does he stay healthy. To sum it up, they asked what habits a person like this develops to become the type of person who would own a $26 million beachside property.

Notice the difference? This line of thinking is not fueled by jealously, greed, or a sense of unfairness. Instead of saying someone should not own something, and blaming external factors for the fact that you don’t, you look inwards. You look at what type of person you need to be to reach your dreams. The former thinking is very prevalent in the world today – just look at the eat the rich hashtag on twitter after all. The people that do succeed are not ones to tweet about how unfair it is that Jeff Bezos has billions and billions of dollars. The ones that succeed take a good hard look at themselves. And realise, they are holding themselves back.

What we have to be asking ourselves has always been very simple. Not “what do I have to do” but “who do I have to become”. This type of thinking is also known as “your best self”. When faced with an option – what would your best self do? When faced with a free evening after a long day at work – do you fire up the Xbox, order take out and while away the night, or muster up the resolve to go to gym, cook your own food and read? What would the best version of yourself choose?

In order to find the best versions of ourselves, we have to ask who we want to become. Who do I have to become to have a six pack? I have to become someone who looks after their body through diet and exercise. I have to become someone who can say no to chocolate ice cream and beers, and be happy with that choice. Who do I have to become to earn $100,000 a month? I have to either work myself up the ladder to get to a senior management position, start my own company, or take time to make some smart investments. There are many different paths there – its not just one way. But you have to put in the work. You have to build habits and actions now that make you just 1% better than yesterday.

As the saying goes, a lot of people miss great opportunities because it’s dressed in overalls and looks too much like hard work.

The question you have to ask yourself – can I become the type of person that… Insert your dream goal here.

Can I do that work?