Here you are, making headway on your journey, little by little, you’re on a roll and BAM, you hear the news.

Somebody on youtube making a million dollars.

A friend graduated from pharmacy school, got a big bonus and a nice salary.

An actor you know hits it big with a great movie.

And that thought inevitably creeps in:

“I should’ve done that.”

So you leave your current journey, or at the very least feel tempted to, in order to pursue some of those journeys that proved to be “successful”. That is, until you make headway in your new journey, and then BAM, you hear other news again.

Some guy made a million investing.

Some other guy flipped a ton of houses.

Still another started a lucrative franchise.

So you leave your current journey and choose one of those and the cycle starts again.

Nothing left except a bunch of scattered, unfinished staircases.

It’s very, very easy to fall into this trap of chasing because you think – “Hey if they did it, I can too.”

Here’s the fine print:

All those journeys are tailored to the individual.

What might be great for other people might not be great for you.

If somebody loves being in front of the camera, acting and youtube might be a great vehicle for them.

If you hate it, why bother? It doesn’t fit you. You won’t get as far as they will because it’s not suited for YOU.

You have to take YOU into account, because in doing so you find the best journey for you. This is why so many people feel unfulfilled. They look OUTSIDE themselves to see what the current trend is and base their journey on that, but inevitably, they find it’s not a good fit.

Flip it the other way around, somebody bases their journey on themselves, and no matter what the trend, they have what it takes to go through the long term. Trends come and go and so will journeys based upon them.

Journeys based on the individual will last – and that’s what will help you resist the temptation to pursue another as well because you know it’s great for them – not great for you. You’ve found what’s great for you and you’re going to keep on pursuing it, no matter the cost.

And you won’t feel like you’re missing out. You’ll be glad for others because they found the journey right for themselves.

The second thing people don’t realize is all the “side effects”. For example, when people see pharmacy they think – “Hey, looks like an easy job, get paid a lot of money. All you have to do is take pills from a big bottle and put it in a little bottle” but of course, there’s more to it than that. There’s a lot more going on than transferring pills.

But some of the side effects people don’t think about is the enormous student loans you take out, how you stand on your feet all day, how you pigeon hole yourself in a career, and how one screw up could seriously harm somebody, which would leave you having a hard time finding work afterwards. It’s not all cut and dry. There’s a lot going on that warrants consideration.

People only tend to focus on the good, instead of looking at the whole. Each journey has its pros and cons so it’s up to the individual to decide if they can handle those pros and cons. What might seem like cons to one person may be pros to another. It’s through this that we come across again, the important principle of tailoring the journey to the individual.

You have to base the journey you take on you and what you want out of life and when you realize your custom fit, you don’t let other people’s journey affect you because you know it’s good for them. You’re happy they found the right journey for them as you’ve found the right journey for you.

Don’t try to fit yourself in other people’s journeys. You never will

Create the one that fits just right for you.