Why would I say you shouldn’t be an average American? Because the average American is fat, stupid and broke. Don’t believe me?
* The average American is fat. 65% of all adults over the age of 20 are overweight and 31% are obese.
*The average American owes $10,000 on their credit cards.
*The average American reads at a seventh grade level.
*The average American doesn’t read a non-fiction book after graduating high school.
*The average American has little or no savings. In fact, the average 50 year old American has less than $2500 saved.
*The average American spends nearly six hours a day watching television.
*The average American complains about how hard they work, yet studies tell us that they only work half the time they are on the job.
*The average American parent spends only 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children.
*The average American doesn’t exercise, doesn’t read, doesn’t communicate well, eats nearly twice as many calories as necessary, and is obsessed with the mundane and the superficial.
Do I have a low opinion of Americans? Actually, it appears to me that Americans have a low opinion of themselves. What do I mean? I believe people should expect the best from themselves. Obviously, the average American does not believe that, otherwise, they wouldn’t be in the shape (literally and figuratively) they are in. They would look in the mirror, at the scales, at their family, at their relationships, at their bank account and be sick to their stomach at their situation.
And please don’t come back at me with the whole “we are in a recession-jobs are hard to come by-people are struggling” crap. It was this way before the recession and it will be this way after the recession. The recession has only magnified the problem; it didn’t create the problem.
People accept less from themselves than they should. They settle for less than they could have, become less than they could be, and do less than they have the ability to do. That’s sad. In fact, it’s pitiful. Actually, it’s downright sickening.
Every day I get letters from people who are struggling. Some complain and want me to pick up the phone and call them to talk to them about their situation. They have some long sorry-ass story of woe and they want me to help them. Don’t attempt this one, by the way, I am NOT going to call you. Some people even get mad at me when my assistant informs them that I don’t call people or do one on one counseling. They go from begging for my help to calling me names.
Some tell me that I am their last hope for getting out of trouble. Now that really is pitiful. If you are thinking of writing me and telling me how I am your last hope, save your energy. YOU are your last hope – not me. Don’t put that off on me, go to the mirror . . . looking back at you is your last hope. It’s up to YOU to turn your life around – not me.
Some tell me I should send them a free book since they are broke and I’m not. I don’t do that either. Free advice is rarely taken seriously. Advice you pay for is the advice you take seriously.
Some write me just to tell me what a horrible person I am to make fun of people “who can’t help being fat, broke, in debt, fill in the blank.” I never make fun of people for being the way they are. I just remind them that the way they are is their choice and to leave me out of it.
I get letters making fun of the way I dress. One guy wrote me just a few weeks ago about my earrings and asked if I worshipped Satan as the Bible clearly says that earrings are for women. I’m not sure where he found that in the Bible – guess his is different than mine and every other one printed. I get letters telling me I should tuck my shirt tail in. I get letters saying I set a bad example by having too many pairs of cowboy boots while telling people to be conservative with their own money.
Some go so far as to say I am manipulating the masses and laughing my way to the bank. If any of you feel that I am manipulating you, please go away and don’t come to my blog again. Don’t buy my books or listen to my material or attend my seminars. I don’t want you to be manipulated. (Though I am not sure how my message of self-reliance and personal responsibility is manipulative in the first place!)
Then, I get letters from single mothers and sometimes single fathers, who work two and three jobs, scrimp and save every dime they can, still find time for their kids and even somehow find time to read a book or even take a class from time to time. I get letters from people with ailing spouses and even dying children who are overcome with sadness and the hard work that goes along with caring for them and keeping their job at the same time all while fixing meals and maintaining a household, yet they still have courage in the face of those overwhelming odds. They still do what it takes every day. They don’t complain. They do whatever it takes. Period. They don’t think much about it, they just put one foot in front of the other and keep on going.
These are the letters that matter most and thankfully I get many of them. People tell me their story and then tell me what they have done on their own to deal with their problem. They don’t ask for any credit and they don’t write me wanting recognition. They don’t even ask for a response from me. Most of all, they never make excuses about their problem. They state their situation and tell me what they are doing or have done to deal with it. They are mostly just writing me to say how they agree with me when I tell people to just suck it up and do what it takes regardless of what you are faced with. They tell me how they have lost 150 pounds by eating less and by working their asses off at the gym. They tell me how they paid off $10,000 in credit card debt in ONE YEAR while only earning $30K a year and with a family to take care of. They tell me amazing stories of ACCOMPLISHMENT based on dedication, purpose, sacrifice and hard work. These people are NOT average Americans. These people are real Americans. They are NOT average in sense of the word. Our country and the rest of the world is full of these people and their stories. From time to time we hear their stories but not often that is for sure. Instead, we hear about Octomom, and Paris Hilton and Brad and Angelina and all the other idiots we let rob us of our time and energy. That is what I meant earlier when I said we have become obsessed with the superficial. Does any of this crap really matter? No!
What really matters?
Doing all you can every day with all of your power to be all you can be.
Being as healthy as you can.
Doing what you are paid for (doing your job) to the very best of your ability.
Taking care of your family as best you can with all of the energy you have.
Being as financially secure as you can be.
Continuing to learn every day until you die.
Sharing some of what you have with others simply because it is the right thing to do.
Doing something every day to make THE world a better place and YOUR world a better place.
That should be your goal. I know it’s mine.
Stop being an “average” American. And if you aren’t from America, then stop being an average Canadian, African, Italian, Mexican, Australian, or German. I have readers from all over the world and this applies to you to regardless of where you are from. Start being the best version of you that you possibly can be.
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Hey Larry! You’re right! In fact, I’m going to print this post out and read it everyday to remind myself that I don’t have to settle for less…
Do you have a list of non-fiction books that have helped you the most?
Larry,
As always, right, right, & right. Unplug the TV to get rid of the noise, pick up a book to improve your base of knowledge, and W-O-R-K away at your problems.
What this country needs, what most American’s need, is a revisit of the economic principals that make us as a nation, and us as individuals, productive. The late Peter Drucker wrote of this in “The Essential Drucker” based on the principals of the great Amercian economist Shumpeter. We need not be innovative only in our approach to the business unit but also in our approach to personal finance. We need to apply the principal of “creative destruction” in our daily lives.
To learn, to share, and to do simply will allow us “to be all you can be”. Robert W Service wrote of the wild men in search of riches and a better life up on the tundra of the northern frontier, in his poem The Call of the Wild, he mentions doing things just to do them in order to reap their just reward, and in so doing one would “see through the nice veneer the naked soul”.
The answers to questions, for many of those you mention (including me), are just as you said a look in the mirror away. Look at your life, look in your life (lifestyle), what you will see beneath the veneer will be the answers to your most intriguing questions, how, why. When you can strip away the layers of life and see into your naked soul, you will find the answers you need, how (did I get here) and why (did I allow it). Once you are able to reach this place (not necessarily an easy task because it takes W-O-R-K, courage & effort) you can take response / ability to begin the process of correcting the problems.
Like the hardened men of the klondike, pick up your pick & hammer and go to work improving your life.
Just a brilliant post. This is STILL the land of opportunity and yesterday reminded us that people have died so we could prosper. It’s easy to complain and wait to get fixed but that’s the attitude that has us where we are now.
Thanks so much for this post!
Great article! What else frosts me is how some people whine about their situation-that they caused, and expect others to get them out of it.
What message does that say to the rest of us who worked hard to be where we are today? ”
“You should be a screw up…and that is A-OK…someone else will come and bail you out.” No thanks! Ugh!!
Hi Larry,
I always appreciate your communication. It always reinforces that I am cause in the matter of my life.
Larry, I think your message is great. I wish I had heard
of you sooner, but the fact is that life hadn’t slapped
me around enough yet – I just wasn’t ready to hear it.
Last summer, my world was shaken to the core when I
found out, 5 minutes apart, that 2 former boyfriends
had died of cancer, ages 59 and 52. It was the weekend
of my 35th high school reunion.
The grief process reminded me of who I was “way back when,” and that was a good thing for me. I realized I had lost touch with my authentic self, and I paid a high price. Since then, I have been trying to find my way back. Thanks, Larry, for shining light on the path for me and so many others!
That’s funny – people are complaining about the way you dress and your earrings. Keep on being yourself Larry (I’m sure you will).
**Fat parents with their fat children in tow – a form of child abuse.
**There’s really no hope in sight in my opinion, as kids today have been raised on nintendo, TV, text-messaging, fast food, etc.
** Fat people and smokers should be made to pay, and pay dearly for health insurance, as they have driven health care costs skyward with their laziness, habits and related diseases, disorders and conditions brought on by their lifestyle chioces.
“But L-A-R-R-Y… You don’t understand. I don’t look cool with a shaved head and I have toe nail fungus and they kicked sand on me when I was a kid at the beach, blah, blah, blah.”
Your first book title says it all:
Shut UP, Stop Whining & Get A Life!
Hi Larry,
Are you on Twitter?
Rgds,
Ina
You are the kick in the ass and the slap in the face that I sorely needed! I have screwed up my life financially which has put a strain on my marriage and relationships with my children I am finally ready to listen and do something about my life. Thank God that you were there when I was ready. I am hanging up your post about “what really matters” on my refrigerator so my family and I can be reminded everyday of the things that really do matter!
Thank you!!
I’ve been waiting for someone to RESCUE me and i don’t mean you Larry – it was ME who I needed. thanks!
Thanks for doing what you do. I was one those people who blamed others for my problems. It was my parents fault that I smoked, my wife’s fault that I am fat, and the boss didn’t like me, that’s why I couldn’t get a raise. I have since grown up alot in the last two years after discovering your books (and other authors). I have quit smoking because I do love my family and don’t ever want to see my kids with a cigarette. I have lost 30lbs and my wife and I excercise together and eat better together. And I took a few classes at the local community college to better my position at work and yes got the raise. On the bright side, I was never in debt because I hated making payments on anything every month. “People are idiots…” should be mandatory reading for everyone. By the way, I’m 33 yrs old.
Thanks Chris – you took control of your own life and turned it around – I congratulate you.
Ina – I am getting on twitter so hang on.
I appreciate all the comments! Keep coming back as I have many more rants just waiting to come out!
Larry
Wow, this is wonderful, powerful stuff, Larry. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Keep up the excellent posts!
Two years ago I was 60 pounds overweight. I was a compulsive eater who knew I had to get away from food to break the addiction. Do you know what I did? I took a job in a hotel laundry for 6 months. If you’ve ever worked in a position like this you’ll know how hard this kind of work is. I wanted to quit but I didn’t. I stuck it out and ended up losing the weight.
Compare this to a friend of my neighbor’s who actually GAINED weight in order to qualify for bariatric weight loss surgery because it was easier than putting forth the effort on her own. I guess that is typical of your average American.
Awesome article Larry. Looking forward to your tweets when you join, Twitter.
LOVED your article. I have watched your Big Spender show and your “mean ways” (lol) of handling a situation made me realize what I needed to do. I have read some of your books and look forward to reading more. I have a posting on my mirror at home and on my desk at work that says “I am completely honest with myself and admit that I have created my own problems. By knowing that I created them means I have the power to change them”. I’m not sure who wrote it, but I have to agree with it. Only I can fix my problems, but it sure helps to have advice (and a kick in the ass!) from someone like you who has been there. Thanks!!!!
Your right. Everyone wants to be average. And have succeeded at it.
I talked to a man who has been out of work for over 3 months and says he cannot find a job. He was making $250K with a degree as a mud engineer in the oil patch. He has a perfectly good lawn mower and a string trimmer in his garage and has a pickup. Seems to me he could be cutting grass to make a little $$. But will he?
So far no and I dont expect him to. Making 250K for over 3 years and he is about to run out of $$ in June and will have to start cashing in his 401K from his previous employer.
I try to be understanding but there are 2 of us telling him, cut grass
Larry,
Kick ass. We need more people like you in this world. We all need a reality check from time to time.
I have been gathering stories for a project I am working on “About People” and each story is a reality check for me. If they can do it so can I.
The person in the mirror is the one you need the change.
If you want to succeed in life look to those who are successful, there are less of them but, they are the diamonds.
Being successful is a choice. The people I gather stories on have their ups and downs like everybody. These people have to reason to be and this gets them over the obstacles in their life.
Ian from OZ
Ah very wise!
i’m living on the other side of the ocean, but all I can say is, wow, great! I too will print it out and re-read it when necessary… Sometimes one easily forgets what one should know. 🙂 Okay, so I’ll start being the best version of me… So simple and so difficult!
Oh, dear! I’m 2/9 average.
Larry –
You rock man – keep on keepin’ on!
I was just reading about how people in some countries have to spend 50-70% of their income on food. It is sad and stupid that Americans are killing themselves with our affordable food here.
We all get the same amount of minutes in a day. Nobody that stays alive today will get more. Those that die today will get less. The way I figure it, the average american does just enough to get by in those minutes, the above average american does more and the below average american does less. I was a drunk for many years and when I got sober 8 1/2 years ago I got a second chance at some minutes in my life and I am busy trying to use them in a powerful and positive way. I personally don’t believe alot of the people who say they can’t do any better. The people who are genuinely trying don’t say they can’t do any better because they BELIEVE they can do better and they are busy TRYING to do it. Those are the people I model my behavior on. Nothing changes if nothing changes. The chance to change instead of complaining how things are is a gift not everyone gets. What we do with that gift is what our kids are going to tell thier kids.
I guess it all depends on your neighborhood, eh Larry?
I am part of the rat race I see every time I open my door where the ‘average neighbor’ in my neighborhood spends all their time at work, shopping for shit they don’t need but can surely afford, and on a treadmill utilizing their gold membership. Don’t tell me these people aren’t obsessed with the mundane and superficial because of their paycheck and lifestyle. I have yet to tell most of them apart. I’d rather have the ‘average American’ neighbors that you loathe than these bunch of sniveling Krelboynes that I worked my way “to the top” to live amongst.
Thanks to people like you telling me my whole life how to ‘value’ my time, I have none to escape this scenario for any amount of time that would be substantial. Thankfully there are places where it’s not all this black and white, devoid of soul and character, and no — I’m not talking about that bullshit you find in your local ‘self help section’.
Larry so finallly someone gets it besides me. Not that I”m being boastful but when we get in front of people and talk to them about being extraordinary you would think that I was trying to convince them that they should all become millionaires in 90 days or less. Here is the question: How did it happen that people became comfortable with average. Surely mom and dad didn’t tuck them into bed at night and say ‘there he is, some day he will grow up to be average’.
I don’t get it.
Good stuff. Larry. You speak the truth, brother. I like that you broke down what was important as well. People lose focus of these things sometimes. I’m glad you’re there to put it in their ear so they can finally wake up. Keep up the good work. Always been a fan, even when you gave it to me straight and told me what I needed to hear but didn’t want to at the time. Take care.
thanks.
I JUST WANT TO SAY ; ITS NEVER TO LATE TO LEARN
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