[copla]

EDIT: Wow, sorry for the length here, didn't realize how much I'd written.

Well, if you don't know what you're in school for, what the **** are you doing there?

Every single day, every action you take is you giving up time of your life that you will NEVER GET BACK. You have to decide what your time is worth and make the intelligent distinction that your time is your life, and if you waste your time, you waste your life. Like Jim Rohn says, failure is a few errors of judgement repeated daily, and wasting time is doing just that. If you take a job for 8$ an hour, you are saying that that hour of your life which you will never get back is worth eight dollars. So why are you in school?

If it's high school, you're a minor, suck it up for another year or two, as lacking a high school diploma WILL set you back in the eyes of many people, more so than lacking a college diploma, and if you dropped out you would have to go through lots of messy legal wrangling to be emancipated by the courts, and therefore be largely considered an adult with renting apartments and such.

However, make another distinction here- high school is a means to an end, the end being a high school diploma. Don't cheat or do anything immoral like that, but why work for B's if you can settle for C's and still graduate? Rather than pursuing a institutional education that is obviously not engaging you, pursue a PERSONAL education. Remember- profits are better than wages, because profits will make you a fortune while wages will merely make you a living.

If you're in college, again, what the **** are you doing? College costs thousands and thousands of dollars, why would you spend all that money, and more than the money, all that TIME working towards such a nebulous goal? A degree on its own is worthless, its a piece of paper. What is your Vision of your future? If it necessitates a degree, by all means get a degree! Otherwise, why would you waste your LIFE on something that's so unnecessary?

You say you want to write a screenplay, is this your dream? Is your Vision of yourself five years out being a successful screenwriter? What kinds of people do you see yourself associating with? Where do you live? What city is it in? What kind of furniture is in it? What color are the walls? What kind of knob is on the door to your home? Are there carpets? What kind of a relationship will you have? DEFINE your future down to the SMALLEST detail. Define your future, expand upon it until it is your IDEAL, and then, at that point, the promise will be clear- you will know what you are working towards. Now live into it! Notice that phrasing- LIVE INTO! Don't live into the past, don't live into the present, live into the future! Take inspiration from the future, utilize the promise of tomorrow to accomplish the tasks of today.

You say you're afraid of being a screenwriter. Don't be a *****. If you believe you will fail you WILL fail. If you believe you will succeed and you act every day as if success is assured, doing the things that success necessitates, you WILL succeed. Are you a good writer? From your post, it seems you're average at best. If so, practice! Write, write, write, and write some more! Take up a journal, not tomorrow, but today! Make the DECISION, right here, right now, to write in your journal EVERY SINGLE DAY. Don't ♥♥♥♥♥ about your problems, don't whine, don't wax poetic about how no one understands you or how your ex is suuuuuch a ♥♥♥♥♥ or how, like, totally awesome My Chemical Romance is. No, rather, write about the distinctions you made, the accomplishments, the good of the day. Write about the progress you made- this way you will be able to live the accomplishments twice, once when they happen, and a second time when you write them down. Make NO exceptions. I took up my journal two months ago and I haven't missed a single day. It is one of my most important disciplines, the ability to not only have a record of your life, but a way to record all the lessons and distinctions you make htroughout life is invaluable. One day, I went out with some friends and smoked a bit too much, I don't tend to overindulge but this time I went overboard. To me, alchohol just isn't that enjoyable to me, I like to be in control of myself, but I'm a fan of weed. Studying, reading, listening to music, it's all incredible. Re-reading old books always bring out different meanings, usually so obvious you wouldn't think to recognize them sober. Regardless, I'm moderate in my consumption, but this day I god dropped off at my place and I almost immediately went to bed, I was just too stoned to really do anything but feel completely relaxed- which is when you know you went overboard, nothing kills my drive, and when my drive begins to waver, that's when I know I made a mistake, and make sure not to repeat it. But the point here is, even though I was stoned out of my mind, about to pass out in my bed, as I was about to doze off I leapt out of bed. Even in that state, my definiteness of purpose was clear enough, my discipline was ingrained enough into me, that alarm bells rang from every corner of my mind- "You cannot go to bed without writing!". To be sure, reading the entry the next morning, it wasn't exactly the next great American novel, but guess what? I didn't miss a day. Never miss a day, never miss a discipline, never miss an opportunity.

Long tangent there. Going back to your post, you say you're worried about death. Why? Death is the destination we all share. You are going to die. You will die. There is no doubt that you will die. Your body will be lowered into the ground and maggots will slowly eat every piece of flesh and there will be nary a bone left. Personally, I don't believe in an after-life. I believe that when I die, I will be dead. However, this isn't depressing. It's beautiful, because it is one of the single greatest motivators in my life. Every morning I ask myself, like Steve Jobs talks about in his Stanford Commencement Speech (look it up on YouTube), "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?". Because, as Steve Jobs says, everything, all external expectation, all pride, all fear of embarassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. You are already naked, there is no reason not to follow your heart.

Even after I die, I hope that eventually I will progress enough in my personal development that I will be able to help someone set forth in theirs, help them change their lives for the better, and be a part of that person's life story. And hopefully they will help someone else, and that person will help someone else. That, my friend, that is immortality. The ability to help someone hundreds of years down the line, who you will never meet- that is beautiful. And why live life? Look around you. This is the only chance you have to experience EVERYTHING. You will never have another opportunity. That person walking by? You'll probably never see them again. That cute girl in front of you in line? She'll vanish from your life forever if you don't take the opportunity to speak to her. Look around the world, at all the countries, at all the cultures, at all the sights- don't you want to experience that? Don't you want to see the pyramids? Not only see the pyramids, but stay a week in a suite situated just a few hundred yards from the Pyramids, walk out onto your patio, and look up at those wonders. It's $1500 a night, wouldn't you want to pay that and not bat an eye? Wouldn't that be a wonderful moment?

This is getting too long, so I'll wrap up. You will probably be a failure. You will probably live a mediocre life, you will probably succeed at nothing of lasting value. You will probably get a mediocre job, marry a mediocre woman, raise a mediocre family, live in a mediocre house, have a mediocre retirement, and ultimately a mediocre funeral. Most people don't succeed. Most people fail at life. When you tell someone, here, read this book, it will change your life, do you know what most people do? They don't read it. Tell them that this book has made people millionaires, changed lives for the better, it's eight bucks at the local bookstore, or free at the library, go get it! They won't. Tell a hundred people- none of them will. But, tell another, and that hundred and first might. Why 1/101? Who knows? If you tell a group of 50 and only 4 get it, why do those 46 relegate themselves to a life of mediocrity? It's a mystery. But chances are, you will be one of those average people. You won't take any advice, from anyone. Most people here will tell you everyone can succeed, everyone can live an amazing life, and you can do it! I'd agree, but add a big BUT- everyone can, but most won't. You probably won't.

But you have an opportunity. You have a shot. You have a chance. At this moment in time, at this point in your life, at the seat you're sitting at, looking into the monitor you're looking at, you can decide to change your life. Right now, your philosophy sucks. Your drive sucks, your ambition sucks, but, most of all, your future sucks.

So fix it.

Right now.

As you read this, turn off your monitor, get out a notebook you have lying around- START YOUR JOURNAL! Write your future- describe your Ideal. This is your Vision of your future, this is what you will live into. Describe it in every detail. Now go onto Amazon.com and order As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason, Think! And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and search out the book Living an Inspired Life and the seminar The Challenge to Succeed, both by Jim Rohn, you'll probably need to order them on eBay. Read them, listen to them- change your health, change your future, change your future. Now and forever. At this moment.

You probably won't... but at least at this moment, you have a choice. A choice to succeed or to fail.