What Success & Happiness Means To Me And Why I’m Giving Business Marketing The Middle Finger

It’s late Monday and I’m currently in Tulsa, Oklahoma sitting in a coffee shop.

I came here to work on The Wellness Bucket; to write, read, and brainstorm ideas.

Instead of working though, all I’ve done for the last hour is stare at a wall.

Thinking about life, my life, the lives of others, The Wellness Bucket, and what it all means to me.

Questioning All I’m Creating With The Wellness Bucket

I’m not questioning whether I want to be doing it or not but rather, why?

I just finished reading Chris Guillbeau’s recent blog post.

It’s a letter he wrote to his brother who he recently lost.

A letter his brother will never see.

His brother was young, successful, and more importantly, one of the good guys.

It sucks losing anyone, especially the good ones.

I Know It’s Cliche To Say, But Life Is Short

I know this.

I’m 39 years old – just yesterday I was 19.

I lost my dad when he was 57 years old to lung cancer.

I didn’t see that one coming. He was healthy and strong as an ox.

People die, I get it, but I’m still here.

So what am I doing?

I’m creating The Wellness Bucket.

What The Hell Is A Wellness Bucket Anyways?

Good question – I have no idea.

It’s a name I thought was cool, catchy, and the .com domain name for it was available.

It’s a health and fitness site? It helps people create sustainable health habits so that they can feel and look their best and therefore live their best – live the life they want.

That’s The Wellness Bucket in a nutshell right?

That’s what I’ve been telling people it is, including myself.

I mean I have to define it, explain it, tell people what it means, who it’s for, what it can do for them, and why they should care, right?

I also need to be specific and niche down as much as possible so that I reach the right audience.

Really?

Holy shit, no wonder I’m staring at the fucking wall – this isn’t at all what I had in mind when I created The Wellness Bucket or why I created it.

Que The Marketing Experts & Entrepreneurial Gurus

“But if you’re not making any money then it’s just a hobby.”

“You have to niche down – who’s you’ve avatar?”

“What’s your unique angle, why and how are you different?”

“What’s your social media presence?”

Blah, blah, blah…

I know these are all important details to think about and many people do care about each and every one of them – unfortunately (or fortunately), I don’t.

And I’m OK with that – in fact, I’m more than OK with that.

I created The Wellness Bucket for two reasons…

1. To serve others

2. Make a difference

To create and write for others, to speak and connect with others, to believe in others, truly believe in people – in the good of all people, their abilities, their uniqueness and unlimited potential.

Health & Fitness

The way in which I’ve chosen to do this and deliver is through health & fitness, because it’s what I know.

It’s what I love and what’s helped me get through some of the worst times and experiences in my life.

Being called a loser by my middle school teachers and told I’d go no where with my life, having my college applications denied over and over again, several failed business, financial struggles, heart breaking relationships including divorce, and worst of all, losing my dad to cancer.

If what I’m creating is too vague, so be it.

I’ve never liked rules anyways.

And if I’m shooting myself in the foot by not doing things correctly, oh well.

Why I Do What I Do

The Wellness Bucket, my “hobby” apparently, has made me (some) money – I think that’s pretty cool.

What’s really cool is getting messages from family, friends, clients, and readers from different parts of the world thanking me for what I’m doing, creating, and sharing with them.

The heartfelt emails I get from people telling me how happy they are.

The big hugs and tears I’ve shared with dozens of clients and friends over the years who’ve come to me to help get them back on track. To help them feel good again, to smile and believe in themselves when no one else did.

I know the feeling well – the tears shared were often as much for them as they were for me.

I like my hobby – it makes me happy to see the joy and happiness in someone else’s eyes.

I love giving, helping, and serving others – I don’t know who “others” are or what that means so don’t ask me to define it or who my “avatar” is.

It’s people, all people – that’s who I serve, that’s who I will always serve.

The Road Ahead

I don’t know exactly what The Wellness Bucket is yet, and I may never know.

What I do know is that I believe in first and foremost, helping and serving others.

And that’s what I will continue to do.

I’m confident that if I do that well, to the best of my ability, opportunities to grow and advance, to serve and help more people on a larger scale will come my way.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to work, write, and create as many resources as I possibly can to help people be healthy, live healthy, feel good, and do more of what makes them happy.

I’m going to continue to make videos to provide messages of encouragement and support.

I want everyone who listens to these videos to know that I believe in them, care about them, and how much each one of them means to me.

I’m going to continue help everyone and anyone who needs or wants my help.

I will continue to listen, ask questions, support, encourage, and motivate to the best of my ability.

I will make suggestions, offer advice, provide exercises and guidance on what to eat to create health, feel good, and begin creating a life full of health and happiness.

I know it won’t always be easy and that’s OK.

Why I believe In People

I’ve seen with my own eyes what’s possible for someone who’s never had anyone believe in them.

They begin to smile again, they show up, they begin trying and working a little harder, they start believing more, doing more, feeling more, experiencing more, giving more, loving more, even crying more (tears of happiness).

They ultimately become who they’ve always wanted to be and knew they could be.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing this happen firsthand with many people I’ve worked with throughout the years and let me tell you – there isn’t a better feeling in the world for me.

Seeing someone experience this gives me the ulimate feeling of fulfillment I can’t begin to describe.

Some may argue that if I spent more time on marketing, a business plan, avatar creation, blah blah blah – I could create more of this, for myself and for others.

I’m not so sure I believe that.

I’ve spent the last six months working on some marketing components that I mentioned earlier and in doing so, I found myself less happy, less fulfilled, and doing less of what I love.

“But you have to do this and you have to do that”…..

Pardon the French, but I don’t have to do shit.

I will continue to do what makes me happy, what brings me joy and fulfillment.

My Commitment

I will continue to help and serve others so that they too can feel that same level of joy and fulfillment in their lives and ultimately become who they always wanted to be and knew they could be.

Helping, Serving, & Believing In Others

Who’s my avatar you ask? Anyone who needs a helping hand creating a healthy lifestyle so that they can feel their best and do more of what makes them happy.

What’s my market? Oh I don’t know – the world.

What’s my unique angle or service offering? People aren’t a business to me – people are people that I care about, love, and will continue to serve – that’s my angle.

What’s my business plan? Simple – serve others.

Perfection Is Overrated

I know this blog post may be a bit all over the place so I guess I might as well come clean now…

I’m not perfect and never intend to be.

I will however continue to work on being a better person, striving to make progress every single day.

If you’ve read this far, holy smokes – thank you!

I appreciate it – and I appreciate you.

I hope in some way I’ve helped to serve you and if I haven’t yet, I look forward to the opportunity…

Because you’re awesome, and I believe in you.

Cheers!

Mike