Shawshank Prison Productivity
Sunday afternoon was cold and rainy here in Toronto. It was a perfect afternoon for lying on the couch, watching reruns of classic movies like “The Shawshank Redemption”.
Now of course, I didn’t actually do that, but the weather made me think of the movie, and a few powerful scenes that can teach us how to have a better website business.
If you remember the movie, you know that our “hero”, Andy Dufresne, goes to jail and eventually escapes by tunneling out of the prison walls.
Each night he chips away a tiny bit of rock from the wall and gets closer and closer to his escape.
That’s exactly how I lived my life from the age of 13 to 31.
(Ok, minus the prison walls, solitary confinement, and prison issued uniform.)
But each day, starting from the day I began my first job making $3.10 per hour, I chipped away at the obstacles in my life to design the life of my dreams.
Each day chipping away at the wall between me and my freedom, to do the work that I wanted, when I wanted. To spend my time writing and teaching without having to report to a boss.
And you can do this too, by:
1) Using your time productively.
2) Planning your work and working your plan. (That’s a great quote I learned from speaking legend, Nido Qubein.)
3) Believing in yourself.
You may remember how I told you that I would get up at 4:30am to work on my website business before I went to my real job as a trainer. I did that for 3 straight years.
And at the gym, I would work on my website business between seeing clients.
I worked on the subway ride home. Heck, I must have written so many chapters and so many workouts crammed into the corner of those subway cars…but no matter what the conditions, I rarely let a minute go by without chipping away at the walls and obstacles in my way.
Like Andy Dufresne, you must make every moment count. You must take every opportunity to chip away at what stands in your way of the life you dream about and deserve.
Chip, chip, chip away.
Chip away the barriers. Build the tunnel that connects your dreams with reality.
And when you break on through to your freedom, or your “internet independence” as I like to call it, you’ll have the same thing Andy Dufresne had…the life he designed.
You may choose to live on a beach on the Pacific ocean, “a warm place that has no memory”…or you might choose to spend more time with your family…or supporting your charities, whatever YOU CHOOSE…it will be YOUR CHOICE when you achieve your Internet Independence.
So start chipping away at the naysayers.
Chip away at the obstacles – no matter how big they are, they can all be broken down to insignificant pieces of gravel.
Chip away the doubters.
I’ve told you in the past that my Mom had a lot of doubts about my success when I was younger. She was concerned I wouldn’t be able to get a job with my “Kinesiology Degree”. She wanted me to do something normal, like be an accountant.
But I planned my work and worked my plan.
I chipped away at the walls between me and my freedom.
It didn’t happen overnight, not for me. Not for Andy. And this isn’t one of those scam sites that promises you overnight success, either. You’ll have to work. You’ll have to plan. You’ll have to chip away.
But you also have to believe in yourself. You have to have hope.
No one can take away your belief in yourself or the hope you can have for a better future.
That’s what will keep you chipping away and creating the life, freedom, and independence you dream about and deserve.
One last scene to share with you from the movie…Andy and his prison buddy “Red” (Morgan Freeman) are talking:
Andy Dufresne: There’s something inside… that they can’t get to, that they can’t touch. That’s yours.
Red: What’re you talking about?
Andy Dufresne: Hope…Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
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Heck of a movie. Might be worth re-watching next week if you have some free time.
Until then, I’ve prepared a plan for you to follow. It gives you a massive section on Time Management as well as the Complete $100K in 12 Months blueprint.
I encourage you to download it here and share it with everyone you know who wants the freedom and independence that comes with their own website business:
=> Free Report: Time Management – Productivity – Money Making
Thank you,
Craig Ballantyne
InternetIndependence.com
“Get busy living, or get busy dying.” – Andy Dufresne