trying to reinvent myself

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notcreative

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I've been a loser my whole life and that's all i know how to be. I'm not joking. I was such a loser, all I ever did was draw pictures of cars. I'm not an artist and never saw myself as one, I only drew cars because I always loved them and I tend to draw things I love. I used to draw a bunch of things, and one thing that was always different about my drawings were the details I'd go into. Of course as I grew older it was less and less impressive and people who thought I was going to be an artist who painted pictures on TV and become the next van gogh were confused. I wasn't confused, I knew myself better than they did obviously. Anyway, we live in a society where you need to be able to market yourself as more than what you came with from the factory, so to speak. You are nothing until you're something, and then when you're something it becomes a lot easier to keep that momentum. Right now I'm nothing. I've been nothing my whole life. Just as I started off by saying, I've only been a loser and that's all I've known how to be. One thing though, I've always been a really smart loser. Time and time again I've caught people off guard with my hidden ability that didn't match their presumptions of me. There's always been that theme going in my life. Once upon a time, I decided to invest all my money ($1000) on a website. 8 months later I sold it and netted $250k. I was a senior in HS and failing all my classes and really did no college planning. I barely graduated but when I did it was the best day of my life. I hated school so much, now it was over and I had time to live life for the first time ever. So now I was someone who knew only one thing: being a loser, but now I have over $150k after taxes just chilling in my bank account. It threw me off, and I tried to toss the loser lifestyle behind once and for all, and become cool. Actually I got pretty far. I hung around winners, I learned all about winning. All while my family was filing for bankruptcy and I didn't know that, but I was still living at home and had a brand new awesome vehicle. Well, being that OCD loser I always was, I learned all about car culture. It's like I took that obsession with detail and converted it to a real life car. But now, I have nothing, I'm 27 and live at home. I'm here learning what I can because I want to reinvent myself as a detailer because I know I'm smart and obsessive about doing things right. This kind of thing just seems to be where I'd do best. My problem is I hate failure so much, that I cannot progress. I've been learning about detailing since washing my dads cars with him on Sunday when I was 12 years old. I'm almost 28 now and haven't ever polished a car before. Too afraid to ruin it. I signed up to this forum last year and in that time I learned a lot, but I don't have the money and tools or creativity to take my skills to the next level. I'm stuck at 3 bucket washing forever. I really don't believe I'll ever be able to go to the next level, but I'll have fun watching you all and maybe God will provide me a winning lottery ticket soon. Thank you for reading.

Edit: Yea I know this writing doesn't flow well and a bunch of pieces of the story are missing, but I never said I was good at writing. I've always been told I'm horrible at it.
 
First off, you can start my ceasing to call yourself a loser. That really won't get you anywhere positive. You can't move up while simultaneously bringing yourself down.

Next up, this site is full of great people with lots of knowledge and experience.

I had no experience polishing a car prior to visiting this site. I picked up a PC7424, some bottles of stuff and went to town. I did a pretty decent job on my notoriously soft Acura black paint. From there, I hit my 77 Cutlass and my 73 442. Since I felt I was on a roll, I tackled my parents Subaru for good measure.

My goal was not to be a detailer, just to make the things I have shinier! The people here have helped me accomplish this.

Welcome to the site.

Read, learn, share and succeed. Good luck to you.
 
The only part of your past which you've laid out in the extended paragraph above which is of any importance is the investment you made. Turning $1,000 into $250,000 with little to no effort is something to be proud of. You made a decision and it paid off. Not many people who are successful today can say they did that before finishing high school.

With that being said, one of the nicest things about hitting rock bottom is that there is literally no where to go but up. Akin to what damaged442 said, you have to stop with the defeated attitude that you have because that is a self fulfilling prophesy.

You have a 3 bucket method set up right now.

Below is an example of how you can go out and start sharpening extra skills. For less than $30.

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G3000-Heavy-Headlight-Restoration/dp/B004HCOE72

1. Hang out in a mall parking lot for the day. As people get out of their cars to shop, find someone with jacked up headlights, offer to restore the headlights for either $10-15. If they bite, explain to them your car washing method and possibly get a new customer. But honestly, if even one person bites, then you were successful with at least getting another car to practice on. Hell, if anything, you got to hang out at the mall for a day.

Do NOT, under any circumstance, assume that all of the people on this site started with all of the fancy electronics and gadgets that they use. Most of the people who have those gizmos, have carefully perfect their techniques up to needing those tools to advance to the next level.
 
Little steep for a Monday on a car detailing forum, don't ya think? Could have waited til Thursday at least. Lol. Welcome
 
Sounds like you need some "cheering-up".
Here goes:

"Hands on your hips;
A smile on your lips.
Spirit in your heart...
We're ready to start"!


Bob "The Cheerleader"
 
You can't be a loser. Only one per forum at a time and I'm not leaving.
 
Loser said:
You can't be a loser. Only one per forum at a time and I'm not leaving.
Click to expand...
Way to go...That's a-telling him:
Good Job!!!


OOOOPS...UH OH:
I believe you just lost your loser status.
Sorry 'bout that.

NEXT!


Bob
 
Losing at anything, simply means another try is necessary. Not all things come without careful consideration, practice, and holding onto faith and determination.
 
Loser said:
You can't be a loser. Only one per forum at a time and I'm not leaving.
Click to expand...

LMAO!! No one here on this site are losers! That goes for the OP!!

I might be bald but women they still dig me!!

Said The legend in his own mind!
 
If you are alive and healthy, the loser part is just a mental attitude; you need changing gears.
Maybe visiting some cancer terminal patients, fighting for their lives and living one day at time would cheer you up.
 
well I bought a lottery ticket. if I win I'm going to set up a few businesses, so I'll never be a broke loser again whining on a forum! pray for me.
 
notcreative said:
well I bought a lottery ticket. if I win I'm going to set up a few businesses, so I'll never be a broke loser again whining on a forum! pray for me.
Click to expand...

IMHO you should just take that money and flush it down the toilet after wiping with it. There are significantly higher chances of you becoming a self-made millionaire while suffering from depression than winning the lottery.
 
Being a, "loser" is a state of mind that we allow others to impose on us.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
I might be bald but women they still dig me!!

Said The legend in his own mind!
Click to expand...

And as a patch I read on a bikers vest said:

"Beauty is only a light switch away." :laughing:


To the OP.

Sounds like to me you were a HUGE success! And at a very early age on top of that.

Failure is a state of mind dude, anything you want, REALLY WANT you can do.

Do you want to detail cars? Then do it, period. Don't have to, but the start of success is a hard work ethic. Sitting at home feeling defeated won't get you there. Trust me... I have a 21 year old son and he's about to face some hard choices. He was like you in HS, hated it, but finally got over with it. Refused to learn while he could and fought it the whole time. Then afterwards realized it was the best years of his life (things are free and wild when you're a teenager). ;) Went to be a personal trainer after school, is certified now with multiple certificates, yet decided that wasn't what he WANTED to do. For REAL?!?!!! :rolleyes:

What works.... is hard work, period. Nobody ever got rich sitting, wondering, and waiting (in spite of what the lottery board would have you believe).

Talked to a guy today a couple years younger than you, was leaving his job at the local oil change shop. (Well he's already left it.) He was getting 35 hours if he was lucky. Now he's working doing billboards, roadside signs, you name it. Said his last paycheck (for one week) was 72 hours. That's SEVENTY TWO HOURS in a single week!

When I told him that was just too much work, but not bad when you're young. You know what he said? He said "I love it!"

When I was your age I started a flatbed towing business, invested everything I had in a new truck and hit the road. Did that for 18 years with a bunch of trucks. Now working 72 hours for yourself, never bothered me. Felt guilty if I wasn't out by sunrise and on the road 12 hours a day. It was good enough for my Daddy... and good enough for me. (He was self employed all my life, and very successful at it in multiple businesses.) But guess what? My Dad... he didn't have an education. He left home at 16, in the height of the great depression to go to Atlanta and try and find work. Started a business in his 20's, went off to war in the Navy, came back and built that business. Sold that one in the late 60's for another career. Built and kept up 3 beauty salons through the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Then he retired from that. How did he make "investment" money? Loaned it to his church(s). Wherever he went to church, if they needed a new bus, or a new building, or property, he'd loan them money. My Pop had the biggest heart you've ever known in a man.

Then guess what he did?
At EIGHTY YEARS OLD he actually WENT BACK to work! He'd been retired for over 10 years, but he was bored, and he just missed being with people. So he went to work for Publix, handing out ice cream samples Monday~Friday and it was the time of his life! He did that till he was the ripe young age of 90. He actually got awards for the oldest worker several times. :laughing: In fact... he'd have worked longer but we had him stop because Mom was sick and he needed to be home with her. That too was a GOOD thing.

You'll be rewarded for the things you do. You just need to get out there. Prayer works, but people work even better. Perhaps ask someone in your church about your situation. It's not hard to find honest, good, hard working people to spend your time with. Lots of people in a small space, and lots of jobs to be had.
 
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