I’m not particularly in love with the term ‘rat race’. It’s a phrase often used to define a frustrating, hard-to-break lifestyle. A lifestyle with heavy mortgages/rents, bills, children, and liabilities — a life which inevitably forces you to work as hard you can with no progress; a life that symbolizes a rat in a maze running a never-ending race.

Yet, as much as I hate the term’s connotation and the the individuals it’s usually associated with, the truth of the matter is that the possibility falling into a rat race is very much a reality.

There are people doing the same thing, day after day, committing their lives to everyone else’s dreams but their own, expecting different results. It’s a sad reality, but these people are indeed running a rat race.

Without real, clear-cut goals, a reevaluation of those goals, and intentional progression towards those benchmarks, it’s actually really easy to find yourself running in one of these nonproductive races going nowhere fast.

One of the reasons people get caught up in these fruitless cycles is because of the social norms they’ve subconsciously subscribed to. Through memes, social dialog, and other perceived “harmless” ideas we indirectly consume, we end up buying in to the the very habits that hold us back.

Here are four that you may not realize, but are causing you to run in place.

Sleeping in

Simple math tells us that sleeping in should not be an objective of ours. There are 24 hours in a day, so if one expects to make any significant strides toward their goals, why would they compromise hours in bed, especially when they are hours we don’t need.

One of the most acclaimed researchers on sleep, Daniel Kripke, said in an interview that “people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, live the longest, are happier and most productive”, which means we can survive just fine off of 5, if we’re being realistic.

It’s funny: we’ll sacrifice sleep for parties, concerts, work, and working out, but when it comes to dedicating those extra hours towards seeing our dreams come true, we just sleep in.

The second you realize that there are real, tangible steps that you can take everyday to make your wildest dreams come true, you’ll train your body how to operate on the bare minimum.

Celebrating Fridays

What’s the hype behind Fridays anyway? Friday’s are overrated. The idea that you’re to abandon all work responsibilities to, I guess have 48 hours of fun for the following two days, is absolutely absurd.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t enjoy a night out with our friends, nor am I condemning rest, but Saturdays are just as valuable as Tuesdays and Sundays are perfect for setting up your Mondays. There’s always something you can do to inch closer, don’t trap those opportunities in a five day window.

Hating Mondays

Mondays are sexy. Think of all the inspiration and motivation people have on New Year’s Day, think of all those resolutions. Now imagine bottling up that energy and being able to take a sip of it every Monday morning. How could that discourage you?

Going to a job you hate should push you to go get a job you love. And if you’re content going to a job that you have to drag your feet to get to, please do and want better for yourself.

How great would it be to look forward to Mondays? What if you were one of those people who lived in constant disbelief that they were getting paid for what they loved? Why couldn’t that be you? That’s what Monday should be or what we should aspire our Mondays to be.

Boredom

There is probably no word in the English language I despise more. Boredom is disrespectful; it’s toxic, it’s a lie.

To be bored is to be finished. Done. And completion is something that, honestly, if we really think about it, is a destination we’ll never want.

There are retirees who after 50 years of work are still grinding. Billionaires and the fortunate few who’ve crossed off everything on their life’s to-do list don’t even get bored, so how can we?

I’m convinced that the only people who get bored are the ones who haven’t realized their purpose or are people who think they don’t deserve what their believed purpose is.

Boredom is literally an impossible state of mind when there’s something you’re working toward. That’s why you not only should never utter that four letter word, but we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be around anyone who does.

Not everyone working hard is going somewhere — unfortunately there are some of us running a race in vain. But you if you take a step back, acquire some self-awareness and dispel these social norms, you’ll be running a race that will eventually have a reward in return.

When it comes to success, there aren’t many business men that have it figured out like FUBU’s CEO and legendary business mogul Daymond John.

He flipped his $40 dollar budget to a $6 billion fashion titan, reinvented himself on ABC’s Shark Tank, he’s a New York Times best-selling author and most recently, President Barack Obama appointed Daymond a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

"I started FUBU with 40$." – @TheSharkDaymond #TheBreakfastClub pic.twitter.com/DxvpxQnGPB

— REVOLT (@revolttv) February 13, 2018

This past Tuesday (Feb 13th) he visited Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club to promote his newest book, Rise & Grind and shared what it took to achieve your vision of success.

As a black business owner who, over last two plus decades, managed to remain relevant and preserve his brand, he had a lot of wisdom to share. Here’s five of the most motivational quotes from the interview.

“I don’t even know what day it is today. And I won’t know what day it is today. Some people have to remind me what day it is.”

Everyday is a Monday. The name of the week is irrelevant when the mission doesn’t change.

Once you see that everyday there’s something you can do to inch yourself closer to something you’ve always wanted, you’ll want to invest every second into insuring it happens, as opposed to living purposeless moments.

“If you’re binge watching, then you’ve already lost”

Here, Daymond John is saying the time it takes to actually binge watch a show, any show, is too valuable and could be spent elsewhere.

It only sounds obsessive when you don’t think it can be done.

“When you complain, 20% percent of the people don’t care about your problems and the other 80% are really, really, happy you have them.

Everybody’s got their own problems, their own dreams and hopes. It’s almost egotistical to think that your problems and what you’re going through should take priority over someone else’s.

Complaining has never helped anyone, and Daymond is saying it surely did not help him. Our worst fears are never the end of the world, so taking the hand we’re dealt and making the best out of it, is far better for everyone in the end.

Do not answer any emails for the first hour of the day.

How you set the tone for your day is critical. Oftentimes it’s not the side of the bed we got up on, but what we first registered in our conscious.

Once you get up and start opening your emails, you’re taking care of everyone else’s problems. Instead, do something for you.

Read the paper, listen to a podcast. If anything, send emails and go on the offense, rather than immediately subjecting yourself to other’s demands.

Instagram, too. Why would you want to start you day on a negative note? Instagram is instant social media depression. Everyone looks skinnier, sexier, richer. When in reality they’re all projections of their best selves, far, very far from the mean.

We must be intentional about what energy we start the day with.

Schedule in the things you love

If the time you put into your dream does not match what you put into your day job, it should be a daily mission to accomplish.

Time will continue on; all while we’re at the same job, all while we put off our dreams, all while we make another excuse. We must make time for the things we want to accomplish.

Daymond John’s book Rise & Grind is a compilation of these very principles he shared on The Breakfast Club and includes quotes and words from stars like Zendaya and Gary Vaynerchuk as well. Peep it here!