An experiment in getting everything you want, without having to work too hard.

My brother seems to have figured it out…

One thing I have always known about myself is that while I am not lazy, I don’t think anyone who knows me would classify me as a “go-getter”. It’s not that I haven’t been passionate about becoming successful, I want success very badly, I’ve just never been keen on the idea of working long hours or paying my dues. Perhaps this makes me sound like an entitled brat but it has never been to the detriment of anyone else. I am where I am in my life because of it, which is ultimately unsatisfied. I’m definitely anxious to advance to the next level, yet I have no desire to try any harder really. This is why recently, when I decided that I wanted more out of my life, I had to figure out how to change it in a way that was going to work for me.

This is where The Whole Three Yards comes in. I want to make a series about not giving one hundred percent, because really, the idea of “giving it your all” is ridiculous. Minus Oprah and Lance Armstrong, are there many people out there who actually do this? On second thought there probably are, but I’m just not one of them. So where does that leave me? I’m smart, I’m creative and I want to be rich too, I just hate working. If “giving it everything I’ve got” is the only way I can have all the things I’ve always wanted then I’m in trouble.

So what if instead of one hundred percent, I gave an extra thirty? If every week I just tried a little bit harder to be wildly successful, like where I could still go to the beach and have too much to drink without feeling like a loser because I spent those hours goofing off instead of relentlessly pursuing my dream, where would that leave me in a year? I decided I was going to find out. Then I decided I was going to document it all right here so that in the end it would be clear if there was anything to gain by going the Whole Three Yards or if ultimately it really does boil down to blood, sweat and tears. Dear god, I hope not.

Week One:

Writing My One True Sentence

A very good friend of mine pointed out to me recently that while she appreciated much of the writing I had given to her to comment on, I was at the same time, no Ernest Hemingway. To be fair, this is presented out of context making her sound more harsh than actually applies but I was appalled none the less. I decided to see what was so special about this Hemingway character anyway.

Wouldn’t you know it, a couple of days later I discovered a copy of his Moveable Feast sitting on an end table in the living room of my father’s house.

One part of the book resonated with me right away. He talks about not being able to get a story going. Instead of panicking it occurs to him to “Write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” and he was able to go from there. This was exactly what I needed to do.

I started out by trying to pinpoint exactly what was making me unhappy. I suppose it’s cliché to declare that you work for a bunch of idiots but I swear I really do and when I thought about it, I had for nearly all of my employed life. Maybe this was why my aversion to work was so strong. Spending every shift just trying to get through the day instead of being productive and passionate about what you do is no way to live. There are plenty of things that I am passionate about and if my job isn’t one of them then whose fault is that? As much as I hate anything being my fault, I had to take some kind of responsibility here. My job sucked and I had to get out.

However if I wanted to continue with my opulent lifestyle, I had to work. I could always quit my shitty job but in my experience that only led to other shitty jobs. In a perfect world how would I be making money?

All of a sudden I had my one true sentence: I had to be my own boss. I was able to go from there.

I realize that the notion of being your own boss is a simple enough concept, but so are most epiphanies. When they strike they seem so obvious you ask yourself “why didn’t I think of this before?” It hit me so hard that I was overwhelmed with energy. If my life were a movie I would be having my “fuck this” moment that you see right before the main character gets her shit together and actually makes something of herself. By figuring out what my one true sentence was I had conjured up more enthusiasm for where my life was going than I had felt in years. And it took fifteen minutes.

Once I figured out I was destined to become independently wealthy I was so inundated with ideas I felt like I had smoked crack. I couldn’t sleep. Every five minutes I was turning the light back on to write down something new.

There were a number of ways I considered going about becoming a multi millionaire. Seeing as I’m an esthetician I briefly considered opening up my own spa but a couple hours into the business plan and I was sure that was waaaaaaay too much work. Besides I would still have to report to a job, I hate having to get up early and go places that aren’t lots of fun. What I really needed was to be able work on my own schedule and from anywhere in the world so I would never have to cut a vacation short again.

Thus The Rheel Daze was born. I’ve always been a writer so when I asked myself honestly what I wanted to do with my life without being practical about it, it only made sense that I would pursue what I love. This is what I am dedicating my Whole Three Yards to and true to form, figuring that out only took about three hours.