Was I Right to Post a Personal Message on Linkedin?

I wasn’t sure whether to post the picture of Julie in our favourite restaurant for Sunday dinner on Linkedin. Linkedin is for businesspeople and personal posts are not seen very often. But because I was so happy with Julie ready to start our celebration meal I thought I would take the risk and post it on Facebook and Linkedin.
 
Most of you will know that I was celebrating becoming debt free for the first time in 50 years and it was a position I never thought I would ever be in. I had wasted much of my life living the good life and not caring about the future.
 
 
I lived the good life
 
I spent all the money I earned and had a great time but then it all came crashing down. Eight years ago aged 60, I was living with my mum, unemployed, deep in debt, single after two failed marriages and depressed.
 
What I have learned from this is that there is a simple principle which seems to be true and one that I now live by.
 
The principle is ‘First the Pain then the Pleasure’. I was living by the principle ‘First the Pleasure then the Pain.’
 
Deferred pleasure is one of the key principles to success in any field.
 
 
I changed then everything changed
 
Changing from ‘pleasure then pain’ to ‘pain then pleasure’ has changed my life. You have to experience the pain in the gym first before you see the results which give you pleasure. You have to eat healthily before you see the results in weight loss and increased energy.
 
You have to save regularly to have money in the bank which gives you pleasure. You have to work hard each day to succeed in your career or business. You have to practice the piano every day before you experience the pleasure of playing beautifully.
 
 
We all experience pain
 
There is the pain of working hard and being consistent or the pain of failure. Either way we all have to face pain so why not get the pain out of the way then enjoy the pleasure of success. If we avoid the pain at the beginning we know that we will face it in the future when we experience regret and disappointment.
 
To become an international Basketball player, I had to work very hard, and the pain of the training was at times unbearable. But there came a time when I broke through to become a professional and international player travelling the world and the pleasure far outweighed the pain I had gone through.
 
 
This has changed my life
 
I have adopted this into my life including simple things like washing dishes and tidying up before settling down to enjoy a box set on the TV. Also putting money away every week and going without some things to make this happen.
 
This principle together with financial wisdom from my wife Julie and some excellent mental resilience techniques have transformed my life in 8 short years. It has given me great peace and contentment.
 
I truly love what I do regarding mental resilience and there is great joy I receive by helping people live better lives.
 
 
So, was I right to post on Linkedin?
 
The response to the post has been amazing and it has hit an area of real interest for many people. The comments have been about how inspirational the turnaround has been and how people are receiving hope that if I can do this at the age of 68 then it’s not too late for them.
 
Someone told me that this post has gone viral, I don’t know if it has but to date I have had 263 comments, 2,829 likes and 210,007 views in 5 days.
 
 
I hope this will help people
 
I am not gloating in any way, and I am still recovering from the years of agony as I slowly but surely improved my life.  I know that many people are struggling like I used to, but I hope that I can inspire people to work over a period of time to change their circumstances and improve their lives. I know from my personal experience that this works.   
 
“When you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, the day will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them.” Zig Ziglar 

 
Thoughts for the week 

1. What are your thoughts about pain before pleasure?
2. Have you ever come across this before?
3. This week think about pain that we all experience and see if you can look at your life and see where you can apply the pain first principle.
4. Then start doing it. 

 
Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and keep believing.
 
Warm regards

John

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