I had a conversation with someone who was going after a new job. They are going quite far down the path and really want to get the job for a career change, and I am 100% supportive and know this job will be a great way to jump start a long career. But this person made a mistake when talking to me. They told me “I really HOPE I get the job”. This is about Wishes, Prayers, Hope and Luck.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. People wishing, praying, hoping and blaming luck to get through their life. I told this person that instead of hoping to get the job, be the best candidate for the job. Stand up extra straight, talk a touch slower than you normally do, give a firm handshake and walk into the room with the confidence to know that you are the one for the job.

That is how you get something – you do something.

I understand where wishes, hopes, prayers and luck come in to play. We need something to target for. We need something we can hold on to, create a vision in our head of where we want to be, or push our problems out into the world. I get it.

But it doesn’t work for getting anything. NO ONE THING. Sorry – no offense to all you people that think wishing, praying, hoping and blaming luck actually get you some place. They don’t.

Action does.

Wishes, Prayers, Hope and Luck

Wishes don’t come true. They are a way to keep your head in the clouds so you don’t have to face reality. Hope isn’t a strategy to get something. It is a way to fake you trying to get a result on something because you are scared to commit. Prayers don’t keep someone safe on a road trip. Safe driving and being alert does. Luck doesn’t get your life to where you want. Hard work, hustle and determination does.

I know this is a hard concept to grasp and these words are stuck in your vocabulary like white on rice, but if you really want your life to get to where you want it to be, take these words and remove them from your life (prayer is the only exception and we’ll get to that in a few minutes). Here is why each of these words needs to be removed immediately from your life.

Wishing

Remember making a wish over your birthday cake? You closed your eyes and your parents told you to think of something that you want, make that wish, and blow out your candles for your wish to come true. Did it ever? Probably not. Because wishes don’t bring you anything.
People WISH they knew more, people WISH they could be like someone, people WISH for this and WISH for that. Wishing does not move your forward at all in life. Instead of wishing, plan. Wish you had enough for a new car? Figure out what car you want, test drive it, figure out how much the payments are going to be, find a way to continually come up with the money to get a new car (second job maybe?) and go get your new care. Don’t dream.

Praying

Praying is the only exception to the rule, but not 100%. I hear people praying for something all the time. A parent praying for a safe return, people praying for peace in the middle east, laid of workers praying that they will get a job. I get the power of prayer, I really do. I understand that sending your worries and fears up to a higher power has a calming effect of the mind and that is the exception to the rule, keep doing that. But stop relying on the big man upstairs to take care of you. A parent praying for a safe return of their kids – you were given a brain for reasoning so why not teach them how to be safe. People praying for peace in the middle east, find a way to actually instill peace. Laid of workers looking for jobs, start being that best candidate at the jobs that are out there. All these things, sending prayers up higher relaxes the mind, but it is the action that you take on the prayers that will get something done.

Hoping

This is a doozy for me. I hear this one the most. I hope to get a job soon, I hope to lose the weight soon, I hope this and I hope that blah blah blah. Hoping isn’t a strategy. Hoping actually doesn’t do anything for you. Do you know what hope does? Hope gives your mind a sliver of satisfaction that they are getting something done because they are thinking about it. Instead of hoping that you will get a job soon, bear down and spend every waking moment developing yourself to be the best at the interview. Instead of hoping you lose the weight, get off your damn ass and turn off the tv and get your butt in gear. Doing something, anything is better than hoping.

Luck

Luck has nothing to do with your position. Saying that other people are “lucky” because they are somewhere you are not, or they are doing something that you are not won’t get you there. This one affects me personally. I have a job where I have the luxury of being able to work from home, so lunch breaks can be spent with my family. People tell me I am “lucky” to have the job. Luck means by chance – and I didn’t get the job by chance. I got it by hustling to find a career path that works for me and I kept it because of my hustle on the job that produces results to allow me to be a worker that the company can trust at home. Luck has nothing to do with where people are at. You get to places from your own accord. You are where you are at because of your own decisions. No one else is “luckier” than you, they just want it more.

There is an underlying trend within all of these topics that I am hoping that you noticed. This trend is the basis of most of the self-help books I have read, has helped people to get results within their lives, breaks people out of a fun, and is the one thing in common with most of the successful people in this world…

ACTION.

DOING SOMETHING.

NOT RELYING ON WISHES PRAYER HOPE AND LUCK.

Actually going out and living life to the fullest is how you live life to the fullest. You can’t get skinny watching the biggest loser. You can’t be successful in a career watching someone else thrive. You can’t gain wealth being jealous of what others have. If you want something bad enough, you need to get up and do something. Even the wrong thing is better than no thing.

What To Do

Here is how you start changing your life:

1. Remove the words wish, hope and lucky from your vocab, keep praying but know that prayers alone won’t bring you anything that you want except peace of mind. Do this step immediately.
2. In the places of those words, create an action plan. Every single time you catch yourself using the words wishes, hope, prayer or luck, stop and create an action plan in your head.

EXAMPLES

Word to remove: “He is lucky that he has that job”.

Action Plan: I need a job like that, so I need to go back to school and learn the trade, get professional certifications, find a fortune 1000 company to target, find the perfect job listing for my skill set, develop my interviewing skills and get a job like that.

Word to remove: “I’ll pray for you to have a safe trip”.

Action Plan: I want you to know how much we love you and we want you to be safe on the road, so be sure to drive the speed limit, pull over if you are tired, show us your route in case something does happen and be sure to check in.

Word to remove: “I wish I had enough money to buy a new car”.

Action Plan: I need a new car, so I need to do research on what car would be best for me, then I need to go get the financial information on the price of the car, and then I need to find a way to make more money to afford that car. I do work 7a – 3p, so maybe I can do a 4p – 8p shift somewhere to earn the cash needed to afford it.

Word to remove: “I hope I get the job”.

Action Plan: This job would be so great for my career path, so I need to be sure I get it. I am going to practice interview questions in the mirror so I can watch myself, I am going to practice my confidence in the mirror talking a little slower so I am comfortable, and I am going to have my friends and family mock interview me so I know what to expect.

Take away point: The best way to live your life is through making a plan to get what you want, and go-getting want your want through action and hustle and not being afraid of what is around the turn. Hence, this site is The Fearless Hustle and is about the best life (shameless plug on my brand : ) ). Wishes, Prayers, Hope and Luck is about your attitude and willingness to get things done.