# Where the drive to go again came from

- **Episode:** [16](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/16.md) (2022-12-13)
- **Type:** other
- **Tags:** motivation, resilience, american philosophy
- **Time:** 33:43–36:39 (start 2023s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/16?t=2023](https://truthliesandwork.com/16?t=2023)

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[33:43] Leanne Elliott: You mentioned there that you were kind of looking at the American philosophy and, and starting to, to look at kind of the positives behind bankruptcy. Was that— where did that drive come from to try and shift that mindset? Was that you, or was that somebody else's influence?
[34:00] Al Elliott: I suppose, I suppose it was me, because my parents' influence was very much— I don't blame them at all for this— my parents' influence is very much Okay, right, you gave it a go, it didn't work, let's go and get a job. You know, you can go and get a job in Aldi or Wetherspoons or something like that. Um, so there's, you know, you have a— you have another opportunity to become a teacher, for example. And that was the last thing I wanted to do. So I suppose that it was almost like a negative motivation that I didn't want to go back to a normal working life that made me start to Reframe how I looked at things. I think about the same time I might have done a Tony Robbins thing, you know, when you run across the coals. And I think that might have been a bit like, wow, that was sort of as cheesy as, as it can be. And of course, you know, you have your own opinions about it. But I followed him for quite a bit and like bought his tapes and his CDs and all this kind of stuff. And that did help because it just started to reframe really that what had happened yesterday doesn't necessarily dictate what's gonna happen tomorrow
[35:04] Leanne Elliott: Yeah
[35:05] Al Elliott: And so I think maybe I'm wrong, but I think, I think I got a lot of motive, a sort of self-motivation to do this and not much external motivation at that point, I don't think
[35:18] Leanne Elliott: What was it about a normal life, a normal job, to use your word, normal career, that, that was so off-putting for you, especially after you'd been through so much and the heartbreak of building and losing a business? What was so bad about that more traditional career path?
[35:37] Al Elliott: I honestly don't know. I'm— I've never wanted to be the BMW in the drive of a £400,000 detached house in an estate. That's never really interesting
[35:50] Leanne Elliott: You've never kind of wanted those things?
[35:54] Al Elliott: I don't think so. I just felt that was mediocrity. And like, I felt that the, you know, the opposite of, of being on, you know, on your ass like I was after going bankrupt is mediocrity, not riches. It's like people seemed— I just felt that those were the two opposites, whereas it was a totally different direction to go in, to build something. To— I don't know whether it was I wanted the recognition for building something, or I just wanted the excitement of being able to wake up and go, I'm excited about what I'm gonna do today rather than I'm gonna go to the same job and see the same people in the same car and then come home and watch the same TV programmes or eat the same food and go to the same bed