According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “Apathy is defined as the following: lack of emotion, lack of interest, indifference.”

Wow, that’s pretty depressing. However, look around you. Many of you do not work with people with this attitude. I don’t, because I run my own business. However, I can remember when I worked for others and how many of the people I worked with fit this description. At the time, he couldn’t understand how they could be like this. Although I left corporate America, for my own set of reasons, apathy was certainly not one of them.

Unfortunately, in the business that Chuck and I run, we also see too much apathy. Of course, we have people who show what I like to call “feigned interest.” They think that if they pretend interest in something else, perhaps no one will notice their apathetic behavior.

People who claim to have an interest in creative real estate will call us and want us to guarantee that they will succeed (without any effort, I might add). NOTE: NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE YOUR SUCCESS BUT YOU. Or they will want to know how quickly they can make a million dollars (again, without doing any work). However, how do I know it will work for me, in my area? As for your area, creative real estate works in most areas. However, will it work for them? I can not answer. They have to decide whether they are going to work on it or not, they have to make an effort. I put in effort every day and I get rewarded for it. However, I realize that “if there is no effort, there is no reward.” For these people, because they are so apathetic about everything, of course it won’t work. They don’t want to work. They are too indifferent.

If you come across the above features and want to make a change, please do the following. Find something that interests you, that is not indifferent to you and watch your emotions soar. I’m not telling you to quit your job, unless you really want to or need to. Look at your work in a different light or find something you would like to do and do your research. Find out how you can start it in your spare time, or part time, and expand it so you can get out of where you are. Once you do, you will have a new purpose for yourself. Put all of yourself into it, heart and soul.

Don’t let apathy make you say, “I’m not good at anything,” “I don’t know what I want to do,” etc. These kinds of statements only perpetuate your listless behavior.

If it’s not your job that’s making you listless, take a good look at yourself and be honest so you can figure out what it is and do something about it. Sometimes it’s as easy as finding a new hobby or doing something special for yourself – dinner, a movie, a walk, whatever, it will make a huge difference. If that doesn’t help, go talk to someone professionally, but do something to eliminate the listless behavior, and I don’t mean “feign interest.”

As Nike likes to say, “Do it!”

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

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