Hey hey! Welcome back to The Bullpen Sessions! Today, I’ve got an incredibly special post for you. The subject that I’m going to discuss is close to me personally, and I can’t stress enough how critical my advice will be for advancing your happiness. In today’s post, I’m discussing the importance of doing things for yourself and not for anyone else. 

I’m going to expand on this concept and discuss my personal experiences with overcoming the opinions of others, but first, I want to talk to you about the Complete Game Mastermind and what it can do for you. If you’re finding success in your career as a health insurance advisor, sales professional, or another business-related profession and you want to take your business to the next level, the Complete Game Mastermind is absolutely for you.

You’ve put in tireless hours to build your business, but it’s going to take a whole lot more of you to get to the next level. There is only so much work that you can put into your business, and that’s where I come in. I help people grow their businesses by bringing awareness and accountability to their personal brands. 

The Complete Game Mastermind comprises a small group of business professionals, all holding each other accountable to improve their brands and businesses. If you think this may be right for you, I encourage you to check out the Complete Game Mastermind, and if you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram @andy_neary!

Whether or not you’re a business professional, something that is critical for your success and happiness is doing things for you rather than for other people. Today, I challenge you to evaluate your career. Is your profession genuinely what you want to do, or are you just following others’ advice and opinions? It’s crucial that you start living on your own terms rather than on someone else’s. 

Today, I’m going to dive into how parents often raise their children to pursue things for others’ approval rather than for themselves. I’ll also discuss my own story and how I recently stopped pursuing a career that I didn’t truly want. Additionally, I’ll invite you to take control of your life regardless of how you’ve been living up until this point. Let’s get started!

How Parents Condition Their Children to Seek Approval from Others 

What initially gave me the idea for today’s topic was thinking about my dad’s expansive coaching career. He coached baseball from the mid-1980s to the early 200s, and something that I noted during that time was how parents’ relation to their child’s athletics changed. More and more parents began pushing their children to become exceptional athletes despite whether their children actually wanted to play sports. 

Parents didn’t use to push their kids into organized sports like they do now. Back when I played in high school, there were a few kids with pushy parents, but it definitely wasn’t the norm. When parents push their kid to do certain activities against their will, they eventually burn out. When I played, I saw guys who had loads of potential, but they completely plateaued once they hit their sophomore or junior years. They were some of the best players in town, but once they got to the age in which they recognized how their parents had pushed them, they began to resent it and ultimately didn’t progress. 

My first piece of advice is this: If you’re a parent, DO NOT force your kids to play organized sports. Sports are not for everyone, and it’s unhealthy to force your opinions and objectives on your kids. Stop trying to live vicariously through them — each kid is their own person and has their own interests that may not involve sports. 

If you force your children to play sports, you’re also instilling in them a mentality of doing things for others’ approval, and they’ll continue living with that mentality into adulthood. How often do you hear of people becoming doctors or attorneys just because their parents wanted them to? They may have a good career, but they’re doing it to seek others’ approval rather than following what they want to do.

If you’re one of my listeners out there pursuing a profession just because you think it’ll please other people, I have crucial advice for you: Do things for yourself and nobody else. Trust me — It’s not selfish to pursue your own dream. 

You Control the Rest of Your Story

Right now, I want you to evaluate what it is that you want to do. I don’t care what age you are or how many years you’ve spent on your career. I want you to ask yourself whether your career is genuinely what you want to do or if you’re only doing it for others’ approval. If you’re doing it for others’ approval, it’s time to re-evaluate your choices. 

I know that it can be challenging to face the fact that you’re pursuing your career for others rather than yourself, but it’s critical that you pursue what makes you happy. I also struggled with this up until last year. When I initially started my business career, I let others determine the course of my profession rather than pursue what I wanted. I went into health insurance sales because someone told me that it was a great career to pursue. I reached some success with the job, but I didn’t enjoy it. Even though I wasn’t happy with it, I kept pursuing that career path because I felt that everybody wanted me to. 

A couple of years ago, I realized that I was interested in becoming a coach like my dad, but I wanted to be a business coach. I felt that I could be great at coaching businesses and help sales professionals advance their careers. Despite my passion, I didn’t pursue it because I listened to others’ opinions in my industry. Everyone told me that I wouldn’t be able to make money from it, and I made the huge mistake of listening to them. 

It wasn’t until March 2019 that I finally started pursuing what I wanted, and it’s all thanks to my girlfriend, Amy. She sat me down and said, “I’m tired of your complaints. It’s obvious that you want to coach, and if you don’t take action on this right now, I am done supporting you. Quit living a life based on others’ opinions and go after what it is you want to do.” That was such great advice, and I’m happy to say that I followed it. In June 2019, I started my own coaching business, and now I’m growing a company on my own terms. I’m living my dream of coaching businesses and business professionals with my Complete Game Mastermind, and I am incredibly grateful for Amy’s advice. 

Now that you know my story, I urge you to do the same. Start pursuing what you want, and do it for you and nobody else. If you’re a young athlete but you’re only playing to please your parents, stop playing and pursue what you want. If you’re working a career because you feel that it’s what others want you to do, find a profession that you genuinely want to pursue. 

Now is the time for you to re-evaluate your future. We’re now beginning the second half of 2020, and I know that it’s been a hard year, but you are in control of where you go from here. You can begin to grow in a career that makes you happy, and you can do it on your own terms. Stop listening to what others think is your best course of action, and start pursuing the destination you know you’re meant for. 

I want you to take the time right now to evaluate what you’re currently doing. I want you to determine whether you’re on the path you want or if you need to reinvent yourself and pursue something new. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain from taking this moment to evaluate where you are and what you want. I found myself in that same position last year, and I am so happy that I took Amy’s advice and changed my life. You can change yours too. You are the author of the rest of your story, and today you’re going to start writing your future. 

Why You Should Listen to This Episode Right Now… 

Guys, I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to do things for yourself and not for others’ approval. Regardless of how you’ve been living your life until this point, you can change directions and pursue what you know will bring you happiness. Stop living for the approval of others and fulfill your purpose. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this Friday Bullpen Session post. If you enjoyed reading it, make sure to listen to the full podcast episode as well. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and give me a 5-star rating. If you have a family member, friend, or coworker that needs to start doing things for themselves rather than for others’ approval, share this episode with them, and tag me @andy_neary with a screenshot of the episode and your greatest takeaways. 

Now is the time for you to start pursuing what you want. Make 2020 the year in which you started changing your life and following your dreams. 

See you next time!

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