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Some people who are quick to tell you that something can’t be done are just plain jealous. They don’t want to see you succeed out of fear of looking bad themselves. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad (which I highly recommend), tells a story about crabs that he and his friends would collect on the beaches of Hawaii and put in a bucket. After a while, one crab would hook a claw over the edge of the bucket and pull himself up enough to see freedom over the edge of the bucket. At just about the same time, the rest of the crabs in the bucket would grab hold of the one crab trying to escape and pull it back down, sealing its doom. I have found that people are oftentimes a lot like these crabs. When they see you trying to pull yourself up out of a negative situation, they seem to take it personally, and they do whatever they can to try and keep you down.

In times like these when people start feeding you negative thoughts, there are two words that I want you to get in the habit of saying…

Watch me!

When someone tells you that something can’t be done or that you are not smart enough, good enough, disciplined enough, rich enough, or whatever enough, simply say, “Watch me!” and end the conversation. Then quietly and confidently take action on whatever it is that you are going to do, and don’t give up until you have achieved victory.

I can specifically remember a good many times when I had to say “Watch me!” to many of my so-called friends. One time in particular I remember was when I was working up in the Adirondack Mountains for a construction company as a laborer. I had just gotten out of the Marine Corps and I had the GI educational benefits available to me. I remember one sunny day sitting around at lunchtime on the front deck of a half-built house. The conversation was the usual, about four-wheelers, sports, hunting, and how miserable everyone was and what they would do if they won the lottery. At a natural pause in the conversation, I mentioned the fact that I was thinking about going back to college part time for a degree in business. Wow! You would have thought that I said that I was going to go sign up to be an Al-Qaeda terrorist. I was faced with a barrage of put-downs, insults, and overall negativity. They said things like, “Who in the hell do you think you are? You shovel shit like the rest of us,” and “Didn’t you fail out once already? What makes you think you’re not going to do it again?” and “What in the hell would you want to take a chance like that for? You have a job, why risk it? I know a guy who tried that and failed out and couldn’t get another job.” I then went on to argue, debate, and defend my position for about an hour. What I should have done then, and have done since, is simply say, “Watch me!” and end the conversation.

I hope that this is not the response that you got when you told people that you are going to college. I hope that you were supported and encouraged for your decision to better yourself. But, if it was not, simply do your best to ignore and avoid the naysayers and negative people in your life. Say “Watch me!” and start moving forward toward your dream.