Summary:

This post is not about $2K watches or $60K cars, those are status symbols and they DHV to the world. The symbols I’m referring to are insignificant to the world yet mean something to us.

Blue Pill Symbol

I noticed my 8th grade niece had received an attendance award, it was attached to the fridge. I read who it was made out to which bears my last name, it made me smile. Then I was shocked to read the award was for having the 7th best attendance record in her class. Not the 8th grade class as a whole, her individual class of 30 students. What the fuck?! Yes, children need positive reinforcement, but I was a child once and we didn't get recognized for 7th place in anything. Why are they rewarding mediocrity? Can you imagine if the Olympics awarded those who placed 7th?

Red Pill Symbol

Have you ever walked into a business and seen a $1 bill taped up on the wall? That is the 1st dollar the business owner made. He is proud of that dollar because it reminds him of the day the cash register rang for the first time. It’s not about the actual dollar, it's a symbol that what this man has sacrificed has paid off. I will bet that he would give you a $20 bill from his pocket before he gave you that particular dollar from the wall.

In Progress Symbol

This is my lighter. It has a quarter tank of gas left, and is probably worth 25 cents. Over a year ago when I was still getting high, I would go through a 5 pack of Bic's every week. If I wasn't draining each lighter to its very last drop of fluid, I was handing it to a friend and forgetting about it (jacked) or having it drop off my lap without noticing as I got out of the car. The lighter you see pictured is the last one I've ever bought. It's been in my possession for over a year. It symbolizes my victory over a lifestyle that was draining my wallet and slowing down my progress. Do you see that chipped and frayed edge at the bottom? I've used this lighter to pop the caps off many bottles of beer in the last year. Beers I fucking earned.

Share your symbols of success below.