Whether you are a parent or a child, you are probably familiar with the expression “just suck it up”. “Just suck it up” means deal with it and stop complaining. “Just suck it up” is a phrase that parents use to “encourage” children to move forward when things don’t go their way or as planned. Ironically, for as good as parents are at giving this “just suck it up” advice, it doesn’t appear that parents do as good a job applying the same philosophy to our own lives.

According to a Gallup survey, seven out of ten employees have “checked out” at work or are “actively disengaged“. In other words, seven out of ten working parents are not applying our own advice of “just suck it up”. Instead the vast majority of parents are working at a jobs we despise or believe to be a dead-end. Worse, we have no plans to transform our detached hopeless employment status nor have we implemented a process to move our life forward with passion and purpose.

Statistics show that only 30% of parents appear willing to take charge of our lives and get actively engaged in designing the life we desire. Rather than devising a strategy to change our lives and create the life of our dreams, 70% of parents appear content to remain stuck living with and carrying around the same old bag of tricks.

Say Goodbye to the Bag

Speaking of bag, the story of Sir James Dyson, the inventor of the Dyson vacuum illustrates what is really meant by “just suck it up”. Mr. Dyson produced 5,126 failed prototypes of his bag less vacuum and exhausted his savings over 15 years before he was able to produce one successful vacuum. So if Mr. Dyson was standing before you in person, he could actually tell you to “just suck it up” with veracity both literally and figuratively.

Today, Mr. Dyson’s “just suck it up” philosophy and invention are responsible for him cleaning up financially. Mr. Dyson has a net worth estimated at $4.5 billion. That’s billion with a capital, bold, underlined and italicized B.

Mr. Dyson’s success can be attributed to the same well-intentioned message parents share with their children but far too infrequently apply to our own lives – “just suck it up”. Mr. Dyson applied the “just suck it up” philosophy 5,126 times and now he has cleaned up to the tune of $4.5 billion. Are you ready to “just suck it up” or what?

How To Just Suck It Up

I’m hopeful that the story of Sir James Dyson illustrates the value and importance of the expression “just suck it up”. Yet, the story would be incomplete if I didn’t share with you the process required to “just suck it up”. There are four elements that are universal in the experiences of Mr. Dyson and other successful people who overcame failure. These four elements make it possible for us all to “just suck it up” – stay engaged, get reconnected and be hopeful about our life.

1. Don’t mind failure. Don’t think about failing. Don’t care about imperfection. Failure is inevitable. Imperfection is human. Those who acknowledge these truths are not only optimistic about the future and engaged in their life but they are the ones who change the world.
2. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. Navjot Singh Sidhu once said “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And venture belongs to the adventurous.” I would also add that without the audacious dreamers humanity is stagnant and hopeless. So dream big, dream continuously and dream ceaselessly. Ignore all doubters because the doubters have no idea how much the universe depends on you.
3. It’s Bigger Than You. Being disengaged and hopeless does a disservice to every person and everything associated with you. Life has a domino effect. Your behavior and actions have the power to encourage or discourage, revolutionize or immobilize. This is why you must use your powers for the good. Life’s dominoes must fall positively forward.
4. There Are No Overnight Successes. Master the art of delayed gratification. Stop expecting to be the Next Big Thing before you have first conquered the routine daily little things. Always remember that life is a process. The “Rapture” may occur “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” but the same cannot be said of success or failure. Success and failure are journeys not faith-based destinations.

In closing, I cannot overstate this important philosophical aspect of parenting. In the future, when you tell your child to “just suck it up” make sure that you are doing the same thing. Parents MUST be more than just a “do as I say not as I do” DNA providers, parents should be the living and breathing personification of what it means and looks like to “just suck it up”.

Are you included in the growing number of Americans who are disengaged and feel hopeless about their jobs? What is your strategy to change your life and become your child’s model of hope?