>almost 26 >nothing to show for it >live at home in

i was like you until i was 24. at that point i quit all the bullshit and started a technical appreticeship. am 30 now, earn good money, 6 employees under me. just get your ass up

>>726462547
How did you get started though?

I know I just need to cut the shit and buckle down but it's hard to know where to start. It genuinely feels like I woke up from a coma and years have passed. Idk where my life went.

>>726462378
Turned 26 last October. Past 2 years I have been living with my mom in an rv. No vehicle, no job.
6months into it I landed papa John's. Was an exact 5mi walk each work day, but winter came and I couldn't do that walk in sub zero Temps so I lost it.
Jobless, carless. Still odd jobs for minor cash,
And still have 2 girls that are fwb. So that's alright.

Have bad acid this trip new years, and have a revelation, stopped drinking which was the downfall that started my life.


Anons, I had a roommate, a Toyota celica, a gf 10/10 who had my kid Halloween 2014 (and took off with my rent $ when I was working. No child support tho :))

But the warehouse job I had was epic. 1100 every 2 weeks, every Friday and Saturday off. Lost it all with drinking, went to heroin, came back drinking, went to jail, ended up here.

Fucking sucks. Nowadays it's a couple of fucks a week, few odd jobs, a lot of weed. And a shit ton of torrents.

>>726462856
make yourself aware of your current situation. you don't want it to be like this forever. you want to make yourself happy. and like everything good in life that's not for free.

i personaly had to hit rock bottom. had a drug problem, took money from my parents and shit like that. yeah, maybe this makes it easier, because they told me to throw me out or make a change. so i started with the basic. a job. when you earn your own money you learn so much about yourself. about your needs and dreams.

I am 34, I have my $200,000 paid off, my 2004 BMW paid off, 2002 4x4 diesel silverado paid off, a 31 year old wife and a 6 month old daughter, I make $240,000 a year at the moment, I have a property in central america

All this is fact, I shit you not.

>>726463184
let me guess - your parents are pretty wealthy?

>>726462378
nobody can teach you to have willpower but you can exercise it to improve it,start making simple things and then more complex things and focus in some objective something interesting and defying.
thats the best i can tell,but i always had great will strenght so it maybe not work on you...

>>726462378
26 is awful young. I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' until I was almost 30. I mean, I worked, had a house, all the trappings of life. But I really was just doing stuff because I had to, not because I wanted to or even enjoyed it.

Can you give more details? What interests you? Any advanced education? Any other skills/employment history?

You haven't fucked your life up, Anon. You're probably only a third of the way through. Definitely young enough to pivot onto anther path.

>>726463286

Attitude like that and you'll never get anywhere.

If his family had money he would be even better off, he sounds like an average guy who just put in the work.

>>726463388
i'm not op. that was my comment. and i made myself to what i am now, but without help of mommy or daddy

>>726463184
I am better off financially than my father ever was. But I don't have a exciting life like he had

>>726462378
Trappin out that bando selling heroin, it all started out I was a shorty playing with BB gun, I went to school with my daddy's tool, I was a sneaky son, then I turned 15 and went and bought a tommy gun

>>726462989
I've decided I need to quit smoking bud and jerking off. They are such huge motivation killers.

How do you manage a fuck buddy in that situation? I feel too pathetic to chase girls these days, haven't fucked in years.

>>726463135
Sometimes I wish I had parents who kicked me out at 18. I've just been spoiled, plain and simple.

A job would be a good start, I'm just wondering about options beyond that. Courses or various programs to get a start, stuff like that.

>>726463184
But... did you come from shambles? Did you claw your way out of a hole?

>>726463292
That is something I definitely need to work on. I am lazy.

>>726463360
It's just hard not to compare myself, I think of 'her' especially and wonder how she's doing and how she'd think my current situation is pathetic.

There is one thing I wish I had the balls to do. I've been telling myself every year that I'm going to go to start trying out open mics in the twin cities but I puss out.

As far as education goes, not much to speak for. Squandered opportunities.

>>726462378
At 25 I wasn't doing well. Had just gotten out of a relationship that fucked me, was stuck in the country but transferred to a college within driving distance to get away, was laid off after the company I worked for closed, and all of this drove my attitude and demeanor down. I got back on drugs, badly, lost something like 50 lbs, got into yelling matches with teachers and other students, couldn't or wouldn't find work in my podunk town....had just become a fucking awful individual.
So, I packed my shit up and moved. I'd a standing offer to move in with my uncle and find work in a large city. That didn't work either, but it started the path. I found a company to work for within a week, because jobs were plentiful, but my uncle and my lifestyle didn't mesh; however, I'd saved enough to get my first apartment and continued working that job, eventually met the woman who would be my wife, left that job for another company in the same field at a higher position, have been there 4 years and am now making 65k, running systems in both the US and Central America. Things got reallllly shitty, but if you are willing to admit they're shitty and fucking work at it, anyone can become successful.

>>726463728
Job experience is limited as well I should mention, worked at s movie theater and a restaurant for a while. nothing that really points me in an obvious direction.

>>726463728
>But... did you come from shambles? Did you claw your way out of a hole?
I was broke, smoking pot and drinking, severely injured after being stabbed by another drunk, I had to fight a felony charge. After I beat the felony charge I said I had to man up, so I started my career, and just changed jobs around 6 times before being where I am now.

>>726463522
Bars?!? Thanks I guess.

>>726463812
At least you had done something up until that point.

I know I just need to the action but it's hard to know where to start. I'm pathetic, genuinely.

>>726463728
>I've decided I need to quit smoking bud and jerking off.

Everything in moderation. Are you doing it occasionally because it feels good, or are you numbing out?

>It's just hard not to compare myself.

This takes a while to get used to, and it is a constant struggle, but remember that you are comparing your entire life to everyone else's highlight reel. Especially if you are looking at Social Media, because that shit is curated to death. Everyone has their own shit, turst me.

>As far as education goes, not much to speak for.
I have no college education. With bennies, I pull about 70 a year in a small business. Not as much as I could in IT, but I have a fuck ton of freedom (browsing /b from work, my own boss, etc) and that doesn't have a straight 'money' value that you can put a price tag on. It does make getting in the door that much harder, though and it's a longer road without having that college checkbox.

> I've been telling myself every year that I'm going to go to start trying out open mics in the twin cities but I puss out.

Music? Stand up?
Been to the twin cities once. Wish I had more time to explore. Other than being colder than fuck, I liked it.

>>726463980
To a point. I dropped out of high school at 16, one of those this is boring kids, meandered around doing bullshit and hanging around college friends getting high til I turned 21, got a ged, and a scholarship.

But I still haven't finished My bachelor's, I need to.

All I can say is fill your life with work until you find the direction, the spark, something that tells you that this is where you want to be. For me, I was at the office one day and my boss was in an argument with another supervisor and I heard the other super go on a rant about how I was some sort of untouchable protege....that was an awakening moment for me, what made me stick to what I'm doing.

Pick something with a high demand
Truck driving is easy to get into if your license, and background are clean.
Work one year with a trainer company, keep your record spotless. After one year leave for a better company.

>1k a week bring home
>live in the truck for free
>little to no bills

Stack your money over a few years and pay for college cash. A single anon should be able to put 40k a year up doing this.

You should find something, you like to do. And if you can earn money with this, become better and better and at the end earn money with this shot.
If you cant earn money with this shit (fe art), do it anyway. And find something in addition to pay the bills.

But make a straight cut from one day to the other. And stop surfing shitty internet sites and fapping the whole day. There is so much to learn in this world

>>726462378
Sell everything you own. Go travel anywhere but the places you already know. Hitch hike, get in strange situations, go in random stores and see if they need your help for a couple hours, you'll get paid most of the time. Accept food. Talk to strangers. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Best thing I ever did OP. OPen your mind to what is right now. Have fun. Regret nothing.

Go buy a shit ton of ketamine
By the time your done with your binge you'll be less of eh fuckin boring cunt than you are now

>>726463728
The girls because I'm honest. One I worked with.

The other has been more of a gf and understands the situation. But I only see her on her time. And it's usually to fuck. That's why we took the label off. Met her off Craigslist. Pretty hot. A lot of ink. Pretty wild.

>>726463940
Were you educating yourself along the way or what? I keep struggling with the idea of schooling, I feel like it's not an option but maybe I'm being too pessimistic.

>>726464031
Definitely not a weekend smoker, it's been an everyday thing for years. I'm stopping after I smoke the little bit I have left. Should have done it years ago.

I try to avoid social media for the most part or it'd be way worse in sure. Overall, I get hit with bursts of it occasionally. Had a bad dream and have been in panic mode all morning.

But yeah, stand up. Always loved it and ever since I learned there's a scene for it here, I've wanted to try. The idea is just terrifying but I genuinely think I could do it. More of a unrealistic dream but still an option.

>>726464387
how did you manage to snag a scholarship at 21?

Ty for sharing tho, all of you. I feel slightly less hopeless.

>>726464428
I've considered this, especially since I love radio but I get terrible anxiety from driving. If I could stomach it, I'd try.

>>726464481
It's such a vicious cycle, 10 years browsing this shit hole.

I need to build up the courage to try stand up. I see so many unfunny comics who manage to make a living...

>>726464606
Nothing to sell but I can see how getting out more could help. I've been so isolated.

>>726464680
Sounds reasonable...

>>726464685
i should just bite the bullet and try tindr, it's been so long since I've even touched someone else. Not even bad looking, just thought my status in life would cause any pussy to dry up and scab over.

Thanks for sharing

>>726464986
>But yeah, stand up. Always loved it and ever since I learned there's a scene for it here, I've wanted to try. The idea is just terrifying but I genuinely think I could do it. More of a unrealistic dream but still an option.

Do it, man. Here's something: Listen to as many podcasts on it as you can. Marc Maron's podcast, or try Paul Gilmartin (mental illness happy hour) he has a shit ton of comedians on there. They talk about their depression and a host of other shit, about comedy and how they all fucking bomb but learn to keep going because it's something inside of them that drive them. Many of them struggle and live paycheck to paycheck, or deal with family who are waiting for them to get a 'real' job. Its all pretty interesting stuff.

>>726464481
Samefag(me)

>>726464986
I smoked weed everyday till 24. But then I was forced not to smoke for 2 days. Tbh I couldn't sleep and felt the whole nights as if I have to drink bottles of water. But on the other side, I was surprised how easy it is not to smoke. And from this day I quit it.

Was not handsome with girls but as I can say from now, it's just training. You can learn being smart and flirty. Now it's no problem to get the number from a girl every weekend (just for fun) and sometimes I even call one of them and meet, and fuck. And I am just average looking. Handle girls is just training, there is no magic

File: heavy_metal_poster.png (1MB, 600x872px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 600x872px

>>726464986
>>726465278
Me (second post) again. Made me think to suggest listening to some podcasts about self improvement in your spare time (during all your /b browsing). Here's some suggestions:
New Man Life: Tripp Lanier
The Art of Charm (started out kinda as a PUA podcast, but they have a lot of good interviews on there now).
The Art of Manliness
Tim Ferris (esp. the ones on fitness and stoicism)

Also Freakonomics and Radiolab. Lots of good stuff there about the human condition, why we do the things we do, things that are 'common sense' or wisdom that are actually wrong.

In all the shit you listen to, not everything is for you. Some of it is helpful, some of it is bullshit, some of it just doesn't apply.

This could be a lot better response, but fuck my brain is foggy today. I need a nap. And posting a random image, because this is an image board after all.

>>726465529
And stop /b/. Now I am an oldfag. I know how to schedule my time and set priorities, but at first stop wasting your time

>>726464986
>Were you educating yourself along the way or what? I keep struggling with the idea of schooling, I feel like it's not an option but maybe I'm being too pessimistic.
Nothing teaches better than a combination of self motivation (fuck it, I NEED to do this right now), job experience and the willpower to do more than what is expected

File: 1477245732304.jpg (50KB, 600x595px) Image search: [Google]

50KB, 600x595px

>>726463388
>average guy who just put in the work
Well, dumbass, the "average guy" in America earns $51,939 a year working an average of 34.4 hours a week. For this guy to earn $240,000 a year he either works 160 hours a week or he had the advantage of a world-class education, or a loan to get a business started. Doesn't sound very average to me.
We weren't all born into wealth, Anon.

>>726465278
>>726465705
I'll check those out, thanks. I've heard plenty of WTF but none if those others. Easy to forget there's more than just comedy podcasts.

Thanks for the advice, was near panic attack levels of dread this morning but anon has helped tremendously.

>>726465529
I'm sure it won't be too terrible, I smoked cigs for 5 years and that has to be way worse. Weed is like a comfort blanket, I will miss it but it's time to stop being a stoner.

>>726465765
This will be the toughest habit to break I'm sure..

Ty for the advice anon(s)! I do feel better

24 on saturday, I've been married, divorced now, 3 year old daughter, was homeless after leaving my parents house at 17 for on and off 2 years, part of which was after I was married with a kid, but ALWAYS kept working. I have always had a fascination for money and businesses. I now earn a $48k salary with bonuses around $14k, drive for uber in my spare time because whythefucknot.jpeg which nets me around $250 extra each week only driving around about 20 hours a week, and I have two businesses, one of which focuses on developing young people into leaders and the other is a consulting firm. In total, I make about $100k a year.

>>726466447

My point btw, is just keep working. Find what you're good at and run with it. For me, it's in developing others, hence the leadership development and consulting business. Salaried job is management level, so again, developing others.

>>726466366
You don't necessarily need a loan to start a business.

>>726466371
Quitting the weed will probably help with the anxiety. My stepdaughter and her dad both partake waaay to much and she takes something like Ativan for anxiety. He doesn't take anything but probably should.

>Ty for the advice anon(s)! I do feel better

You're welcome. /b can still be awesome. It's definitely a brotherhood here regardless of all the bullshit.

another podcast to try is the iprocrastinate podcast. It's dry as fuck but there's a lot of good tips in there.

File: legendary super aryan.png (326KB, 670x1010px) Image search: [Google]

326KB, 670x1010px

>>726462378
>I feel hopeless, I've squandered it /b/, I fucked it all up.

Fuck off, I'd kill to be 25 again.
Literally rip your heart out and shit into your hole to regain my youth.

You're never too young to start your life, redo highschool and go to university/ college and achieve something.
An entire decade is a drop of piss in an ocean of piss in the grand scheme of things, especially your life.

The best way to think of it is "how happy am I going to be that I did this now ten years from now"

>>726465705
I loved that movie.

Ty again everyone, on my damned phone so I can't type all I want at a reasonable speed.

>>726466325
Oh-ho, the school of hard knocks as they say?!

I can see the truth in that, some kind of degree or cert wouldn't hurt though I'm sure.

>>726466447
>>726466596
I wish I would have approached life like this. I can only describe it as shear jealousy tbh, I've never really had that kind of calling in life. Hopefully it's there somewhere.

>>726466730
Yeah it's strange but weed can really enhance the anxiety exponentially.

>iprocrastinate
Oh lordy, I need to check this one out especially. My worst trait, by far. Ty again!

>>726467012
I know I probably sound like a cunt but the dread is real. I will try to not be so melodramatic.

>>726466668
To be fair, maybe he earned $30,000 (amount usually required to start a business) by flipping burgers. Some people are good with money.

>>726462378
first stop fapping. adter a week of no fapping youl get motivated to do something

>>726467347
>I know I probably sound like a cunt but the dread is real. I will try to not be so melodramatic.

Be as melodramatic as you like, just realize that you're not too old to do anything.
Especially as a man.

Say it to yourself in the mirror twelve times a day, that self help motivation shit really does work.

I do nothing all day and I love it. I feel shitty though. Heads up man.

>>726467347
If you're not passionate about anything, pretend to be. It's kinda like that really gross thing you stumbled upon in porn that's now your favorite thing to jerk off to but you'll never admit it , anyone. Fake it til you make it. You type intellectually enough, so I'm guessing you can speak better than most so use that to your advantage. Find some good people that can vouch for you having done some consulting/contracting work for them. Put that on a resume and voila, a slight boost in what you may have been starting out with.

Also, I didn't go to college, definitely not a requirment for success but it is a little more challenging to get there. Apply for federal loans to go back to school if you really can't find any work, get enough money for housing/food, which you can claim is necessary for you to be able to go to school.

>>726462378

I'm in the same boat OP.

Probably going to an hero soon.

Feels bad.

>>726462378
I had a nice walk today after some decay.
Start with a walk. Get off the screen for a couple of minutes.

>>726462378
I'm 28 and I'm living in a storage closet. Every thing I try keeps failing.

>>726467539
This is a goal, I think I have a genuine addiction. Probably going to be harder to stop than cigs.

>>726467653
Positivity is something I definitely need to work on. Despite subscribing to the idea that our thoughts effect the world around us, I still manage to slip into negative thought way too often. I used to meditate and what not, idk what happened.

>>726468147
I can muster that, I do worry about finding myself in some inhuman corporate environment that makes me want to drown myself but maybe this thinking is overly dramatic.

I'll have to look into my options for outside help. I would love to go back to school and do it right. Ty for the replies/advice!

>>726468368
think there is still hope for us yet anon. life seems bleak at times but hearing these other anons gives me hope.

>>726468780
Not a bad idea. I'm going to run on the treadmill but a walk outside sounds nice too, even if it's a tad cold.

>>726462378
trips here, don't bite it, but do put mustard on its back

>>726469125
>I'm living in a storage closet
how much is rent for you?
would you consider posting a pic of your storage closet?
just curious.

>>726469193
Just listening to the bushes brush against eachother in the wind, spotting a bird in the sky and questioning if the person that walked passed you spotted the cum stains on your pants is at least a different experience

>>726468368
Read the fucking advices here. This thread is a start, the /b/rotherhood gave you.

No need to become a hero. Perhaps this will change your life and in one or two years, you are on the more lucky side of life.
There are many b-tards who struggled in their life, but YOU have to see initialize the change -even if it's just a call to a depression hotline. Just do it

>>726469448
It's at my mom's place, so it's free but it's still a long way to fall. Probably 9x5.

>ITT: thread of a bunch if sad sack whiney cunts.

>>726463388
>typical "life is a self-fulfilling prophecy" bullshit

>>726462378
find a half decent chick who is just as big a loser as you and marry her. its your only hope

>>726466325
this is bullshit unless you're giving advice to a NEET (which, to be fair, we are in that context, but my point stands)

>>726469450
What a serene picture you paint anon.

Thank god I live out in the sticks where I can were my cum stained pants without fear of judgement!

>>726469871
Sometimes you gotta be a whiny cunt to see the other side of things!

>>726470143
Last resort

>>726462378
>>almost 26
>>nothing to show for it
>>live at home in isolation
>fuck up my life beyond repair
You're fine. You may have wasted your life, but you have your whole life ahead of you.

At least your parents didn't die when you were in high school.
At least you weren't forced to give up all your dreams of becoming an accomplished writer
at least you weren't forced to give up all your dreams of being an accomplished judoka
at least you weren't forced to give up your dreams of being a highly educated and productive member of society, leading the cutting edge of technological development
so you could get your GED, get yourself out of homelessness, and get a job, and work a shitty 9-5 so you can survive in your depression.
While all you wanted to do was live a good life, and make something of yourself, but you couldn't, because you need support to reach your full potential in society, but that support is fucking dead.
You can't reach your full potential in school when you're sleep deprived from waking up for work every single morning.
You can't develop your writing skills to their full potential when you've exhausted yourself from work 5 days out of the week, and can barely scrape together a few sentences each day, and maybe some notes during the weekends if your friends don't bother you to hang out doing bullshit.
You can't reach your full potential in judo if you have to balance all of the other bullshit in your life, only to have less than a few hours a week to practice.

Society doesn't invest in the potential of people, yet alone people who don't have parents to invest in them.

>>726471125
Hey, basically the entire reason I'm a Socialist.

If this is your life, I'm sorry anon. You were born too soon, into a barbaric society that still believes that meritocracy is a good societal system, and that anyone with enough willpower and talent can literally break the nature of reality and "be successful".

success, obviously, only having any real meaning when you tell people how much money you make. because that's the purpose of life. chasing green paper.

or not even paper anymore. trying to make a digital number that represents your money go up instead of down.

>>726463184
Good for you. Now how the fuck did you get there retard, thats what op wants to know

I'm 24 and Im slowly getting out of the same hole you're in.

Just had my first day of work yesterday, it was pretty bad to be honest. Ill have money soon though and thats worth it. And you have experience in a restaurant so go apply to some! I just got a job in a restaurant with no experience at all, you can do it!

Gonna enroll in school in the fall after summer. Probably just take some general ed and maybe a class or two that sounds interesting. Like photography, so I don't hate school every second Im there.

You can do this though I have ex methhead parents, well my dad probably still does it who knows. Grew up squattin from house to house or staying at my aunts here and there when my parents stayed on the street or some disgusting house. After high school I was homeless in the bay area for a while.

I've been staying at a friends place, but Im saving up a few grand to move out soon. If I can do it, you can too!

>>726471972
he claims that he was dirt poor, got into a fight, beat a felony charge, then just "pulled himself up by the bootstraps".

But anyone with their head down here in reality and not in the clouds knows that rags-to-riches stories are statistically insignificant, especially in America, and that most people who "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" suffer from the Survivorship bias, where they inaccurately credit themselves with their success, when it was likely that of something else.

For instance, I used to work at a car lot, where the owner was a multi-millionaire and owned properties all over town. He is uneducated, and approaching 70 years old. He doesn't talk to customers because you can barely understand his English, and claims that he didn't have his first pair of shoes until he was 12 years old.

I sat down in his office one day and asked him to tell me his story. A staunch conservative, obviously he claims that he's a self-made man, and that everything he has is through hard work and willpower.

But in his story, he briefly skims over the part where he's working at a car wash, making shit money, and the owner, on his deathbed, leaves the business to my ex-boss because he has no family or friends to leave it to.

You didn't work hard. You got lucky. If all of us could have that kind of luck, we'd be fine. But because those who "made it" get to pretend that they did it themselves, it reinforces this carrot-on-a-stick economic system we have where most of us won't make more than 70k a year.

File: 1489762935906.jpg (186KB, 600x443px) Image search: [Google]

186KB, 600x443px

>>726472173
Sorry, I couldn't bite back this.

This thread has a lot of /b/ from good times.

>>726463135
solid advice.
Im trying to do as you recommend but im having some pretty severe depressive episodes. it really sucks and forced me to stop with my last job.

>>726472173
I'm sure I'll be fine, things just seem bleak atm.

I could never go back to working at a restaurant though, I hated it. If you can stomach it, you can make great money. I'm just not capable. Glad to hear you're on your way tho anon, encouraging for my situation.

>>726472434
It's not impossible bud, left home at 17 with nothing, not more than $100 in my bank. Now I've got $15k in the bank, not a ton but more than most and make $100k a year.

I'm not gonna say I did it by myself, but I sought out people who could advise me and help direct me to where I could make some money. 24 now

>>726475616
so you get lucky and get to keep it to yourself

and the rest of us don't get lucky and keep $100 in the bank

the problem isn't with individuals, it's the type of system we have.