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Jenny is now a couple weeks in to her journey working for and learning from Justin… and there have been some major ups and downs.
It’s been a really rough ride, to say the least…
Jenny has gone from not even being able to use email, to finally starting to make a little progress… but Justin has found himself seriously questioning whether he’s made a big mistake taking her on (you’ll see why)…
In this episode, we share some clips capturing the craziness of the past couple weeks!
Episode 31: Show Notes
A few things we cover in today’s episode!
- How Jenny felt after her first day of work…
- What Jenny thinks about Justin’s idea of her running a marathon in 6 months…
- Her struggle just to set up a YouTube account… and how she managed to lock herself out of her email account in the process…
- Why Justin wanted Jenny to “do things on her own” at the start instead of holding her hand…
- The ups and downs of Jenny’s first two weeks… and there were some really high ups and some really low downs…
- Why Justin was starting to fear that there may be no hope for Jenny… and how that’s beginning to change…
Links and Resources
- If you want to stay up to date with Jenny’s story and see the “uncut” versions of the videos, head over to 8MinuteMillionaire.com/Jenny!
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Jenny,
I just listened to the latest podcast and there were definitely some ups and downs but that’s always the way things go. That’s just life. Please just hang in there and know that you have to go through the bad to get to the good and I’m rooting for you and you are an inspiration to so many people that have been in your shoes so don’t give up girlfriend. I believe in you!! ??
Amanda,
Thank you so much for your support and advice! This helps so much! The fact that you believe in me gives me just enough of a boost to keep going! I got this!!
-Jenny
Just listened to this. I’m so proud of you, Jenny for being so brave to give it your all, and of you, Justin, for trying so hard to make a real difference in her life:)
Thanks Irene! It means so much that you are listening in and following my journey! And Justin and Tara are pretty great to do this aren’t they? :) They’ve helped so much already!- Jenny
Stick with it, Jenny! If something is easy for you, it means you’re not challenging yourself. Don’t sweat the roadblocks. Like Amanda said, that’s life. Challenge yourself. Look forward to solving difficult problems. Look at it as a challenge. Don’t look at it as beating you down. I am an engineer, and I often get stuck on difficult problems, sometimes for days. That’s part of the gig. It doesn’t mean you’re slow or stupid or whatever. It simply means you’re doing something you haven’t done before, and that you have to figure it out. Figuring out things isn’t always easy. If it were easy, you wouldn’t have to figure it out.
You got this! Do it!
Best wishes.
Wow Walt great advice thank you! I like what you said about looking at things as a challenge, not beating me down. I will start doing that! And you’re right I’m not slow or stupid, I’m just trying a lot of new things! :) Thank you so much, I feel better already!
-Jenny
I’ve been watching with great interest what has happened thus far, Jenny.
I see you focusing on a couple of things. 1) How stupid am I (etc., in all of the iterations). 2) How come it takes me so long to learn?
I can tell you, I have always felt like everybody else just “got it”. I didn’t understand. I still don’t, but I don’t think much of it anymore. (And I’m telling you this in the hopes that you see it and it helps).
I assume now (because of what I just said above) that I have to work 2 to 3 times as hard as everyone I have ever met or will ever meet. No joke. So, at some point, I just accepted it.
One of the things that has made a major, major difference in my life is realizing that (that I have to work harder than everybody else). If I just make that assumption, I don’t stop; ever. My objective is to keep going until I do it better than anybody else.
My other thought after viewing this particular video is this: though you are focused on how long it takes, I see another perspective. That is, if you look BACK on what has happened in the last couple to few weeks, you will see how far you’ve come; what you have learned. If you focus on that (forgetting the ‘pain’ of the moment), it may help. (These skills you have learned will never leave you. Though, in the future, you may have to look them up again as a refresher, you will have DONE them once. That is important).
Another thing I find that helps me in any endeavor that I take on is to never, ever, ever, ever, ever lose sight of why I am doing it. When I initially started working on myself, and my goals, I surrounded myself with why I wanted to do something. (I also plastered my room with motivational sayings. It was all I saw, every day.). If you always remember your “why”, you will never stop doing the “what” and “how”. (it won’t even be a choice. You’ll just do it, because you’ll never stop thinking about why you’re doing it. It will be a life-changing moment when that happens for you unconsciously).
I can tell you that, without a doubt, there will always, always be “struggle”. It is how our Creator allows us to grow. The difference between here and where we want to be sometimes “feels” painful. But, on the other side, we can look back and realize it not only wasn’t bad, but now feels great (I try to focus on this when I don’t want to exercise sometimes in the morning). What you may view as a struggle is truly growth; an expansion of the creation that you are (which ultimately glorifies our Creator).
I don’t want to get off on too much of a tangent here, but, I want to tell you that you are doing the things you are supposed to be doing. You have committed (made a decision) to be a different person, for many reasons. That’s scary, and frightening, for legitimate physiological reasons. The great thing is, there is no real danger. If the worst case scenario for you doesn’t end in death or injury (in whatever objective you pursue), then it ends in growth. That means you can pursue it with gusto, looking fear eye-to-eye and working through it, knowing you will come out of it unscathed on the other side.
I look forward to the continuing updates. I have a great deal of respect for you for putting yourself out there like you are doing. I appreciate Justin and Tara for helping you do it (as it creates tremendous ripples in the current of life). It will help in the long run for you to know there are people that are following your journey, even if they are doing so silently on the sidelines. You are not alone. There are people out there that struggle like you are doing. You will come out on the other side a different, and better, person for it.
Keep rockin’.
Adam, thank you for taking the time to write this! There is so much good advice here! It’s so comforting to know that you understand how I feel and that I’m not alone. Something you said that really stood out to me is that things became easier for you when you realized that you had to work 2 or 3 times harder than most people in order to be successful. I feel ya! I’ve never thought about that before! Also I really like where you talk about the growth being in the struggle. I needed to hear that! Thank you! Please keep the great comments coming! I’m sure they are helping many other people as well! I’m so appreciative!
-Jenny
I’ve listened to every episode of 8 minute millionaire and I started to send this comment to Jenny personally but I chose not to because I felt that other people might benefit from reading it.
There are many dynamics going on with Jenny and many of them are plain to see but there are a ton that are hidden below the surface.
Feeling like a failure has little or nothing to do with the actual act
of failing. Failing (which I prefer to call feedback) is a part of life. Notice how I just reframed something most people view as negative. Jenny you can do this too.
Is it possible that there are people in the world that have failed a ton more times than myself or Jenny? Absolutely, but even though that’s the case why should we compare ourselves to others? We shouldn’t. If anything we should get inspiration from how they fail and continue to do the work that they love. That’s where the gifts lie.
On the other hand there are people in the world who have and will achieve more than any of us can ever fathom, who still feel empty inside, unhappy, inadequate, not good enough and yes, like failures.
When you adopt the narrative or the story of being a failure you really shoot yourself in the foot because nothing you ever do will ever be good enough. It becomes the backdrop for your entire life whether you are succeeding or failing you still feel like a failure. It’s akin to the woman who use to weigh 400 pounds and now weighs a whopping 135 pounds but when she looks in the mirror she still sees herself as being fat.
Failure (feedback) is a single event not at all continuous. It occurs when a goal set isn’t met, when something that was planned is not completed.
Your feelings and thoughts about yourself on the other is what is troubling you and is based on your story of you that your repeat over and over. Have you ever heard the saying its not the bite from the snake that kills you, its the venom. It’s not the failing that is hurting you Jenny, its your story about yourself. It’s not only your stories but its also the stories that the world has telling you about yourself all your life. You’ve heard the stories from your mother, brothers and sister and many of them corroborate what you already believe to be true about yourself.
As a result, you find that thread of pain within yourself and you pull it until it completely unravels and we get to see the tears and hear the immense pain that you’re in. However, its not the failing that is causing all the pain, its your belief about what failing means to you as well as your beliefs about yourself. Honestly, you could truly become a millionaire in 5 years and still have not gotten rid of the pain of feeling like a failure. Your greatest challenge is not running a marathon or becoming a millionaire, its learning to love yourself (just as you are) as well as telling yourself the truth about who you really are.
If you believe at your core that you are a failure you are going to pull on that string and focus on it until you’ve once again proven yourself right – you are a failure.
Nothing beats a failure like a success. How do you define success? I say you’re already a success. Do you know how much courage it takes to make yourself vulnerable in front of millions of people? Do you know how much courage to be willing to change habits that have been with you for 20 plus years? Do you know how awkward I, Justin or Tara would feel trying to do someone’s hair for the first time yet you are dealing with the awkwardness of starting something brand new and doing very well I might add.
Thinking of yourself as a failure and actually failing is not the same thing. If you think of yourself as a failure then you are that and its not something you can change. An act of failing is something you can change, overcome and triumph over. Right now what you are doing is ignoring your wins and concentrating on your losses. I want you to reverse that and you are the only one that can do that for yourself. Your wins are far more significant than your losses anyway.
Did you know even though there are millions of people listening to your journey they are still too afraid to do what you’re doing? On the other end of the spectrum you are an inspiration for so many people that feel like failures in their own lives and now have been given permission (because of you) to finally do something about it.
I’m not in the habit of giving advice although this long post may sound like it. I endeavor to only point to the signposts and let you find your own way because I can never know what journey is best for you to take. One of the best way to deal with your feelings is to question them.
Here are some powerful questions to ask yourself. You can use these questions on every thought/concept that’s taking you away from your peace.
Example thought: “I’m a failure”
Is it true? (yes or no) – Don’t allow yourself to go into your story.
Can you absolutely know that it’s true? (yes or no) – same as above
How do you feel or what do you think about yourself when you think the thought?
Is there a stress-free reason to hold on to this thought?
Who would you be or how would you feel without the thought?
Now some turnarounds
I am a success. (the opposite of what you currently think)
I am not a failure.
Write down some examples of how you have been successful.
Write down some examples of why you are not a failure.
Jenny, you’re much stronger than you think. Your strength comes from within not based on something you can do or not do well. Remember it always seems a lot worse to you who are going through it than it does from us looking from the outside.
Whether you stay the course or decide to abandon this altogether it will not change who you ultimately are. There is nothing you have to do to feel worthy and validated and I think your mother, most of all, gets that. I believe in you.
Rick
Rick,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this thought out comment. It means so much. I love where you say to focus on my wins. You are so right. I’ve been focusing on my losses and being so hard on myself and not taking a step back to see how far I’ve come. I guess I just don’t want to get comfortable and think that all is well when I can clearly improve a lot more. But I definitely see where you’re coming from. I would be way better off if I changed my focus. Still seeing what I can improve but seeing how far I’ve come and seeing my potential!
With out the negative thoughts of myself I would be incredible! There would be nothing holding me back. I would believe in myself which would give me all the reason to keep pressing forward and aiming for my goal. My question is though, how do I change my thought process when I keep seeing the same results? Do I first pretend like I believe what I want to believe then it will come? or is there more to it?
Thanks for believing in me! It means so much!
-Jenny
Jenny trying to stop the negative thoughts is like trying to stop the wind from blowing. Just become a watcher of those thoughts. Allow the thoughts to be. Make friends with them and let them no that they can hang around but they no longer serve you.
You can do this. I believe in you.
Wow Rick, I’ve never looked at it that way before! Great insight! I will definitely try that out! Thanks! :)