Feels like my dream just died.

[AlmostLikeLife]

I don't know if any of you remember the thread I made a while back about wanting to go to a local professional wrestling school.

I e-mailed the owner of the school and he told me that the school was on a hiatus, but he was still interested in finding people to train. Well, I just saw on the school's official Facebook page that they're now selling the wrestling ring. I guess the school is completely shut down now. Nothing good ever lasts around here...

This school felt like my one chance to get to live my dream of being a pro wrestler. With the school now gone, I don't know how I'll go about achieving that dream. I think the nearest wrestling school now is two states away.

Life just wants me to be stuck in retail the rest of my life...

 

[zombiesinc]

This school felt like my one chance to get to live my dream of being a pro wrestler. With the school now gone, I don't know how I'll go about achieving that dream. I think the nearest wrestling school now is two states away.

If this is the one thing you want most in your life, distance should hardly hold you back. Of course moving is a big deal, but that doesn't make your dream impossible to attain. Perhaps you'll have to wait a little longer to save up money to move, and find a job to support yourself, but that's just how life goes.

I can understand, to my own extent, the disappointment and maybe even frustration with this sort of news, but if you're really determined to follow your dream, don't let this completely discourage you and stop you from doing whatever you have to.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Above is very well said.
Nothing in life is straightforward; take it as as extra challenge.

If you want to do something, don't let distance hold you back mate.
Life has a funny way of making things tough, but just give it the finger and don't let it stop you from doing something you really need to.

And hey, on the flipside, maybe things will be for the better, and sometime in the future you might sometime find something you feel even more passionate about.

I wish you the absolute best mate.

 

[AlmostLikeLife]

It's not that easy for me to just pack up and go somewhere else. I have no money. I have $60 to my name right now. It's tough to find a job after the way I left my last one (long story). I have no car. It would take years and years and years on a minimum wage salary to save up for not only a car, but a place to live in the new town, and enough money to pay for the wrestling school. I felt like this was my one chance because everything about the school was so convenient. It was cheap and it was nearby.

Now, today I basically lost my gym membership because I can't afford it without going over my credit limit anymore.

On top of all that, I still can't convince my parents that being a pro wrestler is the one thing that I want to do. Every time I bring it up, they either go totally silent or they change the subject. It's as though they want me to end up like basically everyone I went to high school with, working a dead-end job at a grocery store or auto shop.

Seemingly every time I get excited about something, it gets taken from me...

- I had a girlfriend for the first time ever. She cheated on me.
- I got interviewed for a job position I really wanted. They never called me back.
- I was excited about coming back from injury and playing my second season of semi-pro football. I find out the team doesn't want me back.
- I'm happy about living with my best friend of the last 7 years. He ends up moving back in with his grandparents for no reason.
- I heard about the wrestling school, even had a plan as to how I was going to work to get there. The school shuts down after only being open for two months.

And all of this happened within the last year.

...I dunno, maybe I'm just being a whiny ***** about all of this. Everything just seems to suck right now.

 

[hortez the champion of the frozen wastes]

You could always try and get into a field of arts, like music. Sure its hard to get successful, but what do you have to lose? And many musicians would tell you its the journey that matters. Doesn't have to be music; you could take up painting, or take a dance class.

 

[SiskoBlue]

That is one rough year. It doesn't sound like any of it was particularly your fault, unless you know why your friend move out and your team didn't want you back? But there are plenty of fish in the sea, and plenty of football teams, and other jobs.

If it's something you really want you'll just have to dig deep right now. There's a book that looks at the difference between millionaires and billionaires and asks what makes the difference. The main thing was that billionaires plan, plan, plan, plan everything. The other interesting difference is that they had all made millions first, lost it all, and then come back and made billions. They'd failed, they'd been crushed. The true test of their character was standing up, shaking it off and keep going.

You might ask if you have the will power but I'll tell you a secret, there's no such thing as will power. Will power is just the result of faith in your beliefs (no, this is not turning religious). If you really BELIEVE certain ACTIONS will lead to a specific OUTCOME then you will have no problem doing those actions.

The reason a smoker has trouble quitting, or a person dieting is that at some point they doubt that following their plan will actually work. If it's not really going to work then why bother resisting.

Make a sensible, realistic plan, with sensible attainable steps. say 1. save $20 week until I have £200 saved. That's 10 weeks. Is it possible? Yes, what will make it easier; not spending money elsewhere, doing more work, changing jobs? You need to determine the answers for yourself but make them solid and clear actions you know you can do.

If a plan fails, figure out why, and make a new plan. You know what you're ultimate goal is so set out the steps required to get there. And then set out the actions required to achieve each step. If you know you can satisfy each step and that each step will have the outcome you want then you'll find the will power as it were to do them. It sounds simple but don't forget, most billionaires, although smart, are usually not geniuses. They just stick to the plan.

Good luck

 

[Raven's Nest]

You know, I find the biggest obstacles we find in life are the ones we create for ourselves...

So you have little money now? Well that situation is probably the easiest to resolve. Find a job, accept it's just a stepping stone for the next step. Work sucks, this is common knowledge and nobody likes their first couple of crappy retail jobs but that is just simply the first step on the working ladder. Think of it as grinding in an MMO, shits gotta be done so might as well get on with it. Besides, you'll never know who you'll meet on the way. New experiences, new friends, new interests and even new ambitions may await you so don't be so quick to think such jobs are a waste of your life, it may even be the making of it!

No wrestling schools are near you? It's a toughie but life is never so generous as to hand our dreams to us on a silver platter. If deep down in your heart you know you want to chase your dream of suplexes and cloverleaf leglocks, you'll never give up. Get in touch with that instructor again, find out what he is planning to do next, ask him how he got started and if he can give you any advice on how to become a pro wrestler. Don't give up! If you need to move to a new state then so be it. Keep searching for ways to do this and set yourself little achievable goals in order to get there. If you see an obstacle, look for a way around it. My dream is to work in an African nature reserve. Do you know how many miles that is from my house (in the UK)? I haven't even started counting yet but I'm taking the steps to get there. I beat down my doubts, my self loathing and told myself If I wanted it enough, I could make it happen. So now at 23, I went back to college and started from square one again. I've just secured an 8 week placement at a great zoo half way across the country from me, working with Elephants! I don't know how I'm gonna get there every day, hell i'll probably end up camping in a field the whole time. But I know the pain in the ass of it will all be worth it as it'll bring me that little bit closer to Africa in the end...

Try and keep your mind in the here and now. Don't concern yourself too much with the future and certainly don't dwell on the past. I dunno how i'm gonna apply for that wildlife ranger job in africa yet, so you shouldn't worry about how you're going to bust out on the pro circuit just yet. Focus on the things you can do now. Phone that instructor, this should be your first step. If you can demonstrate your passion, i'm sure they'll do everything they can to support you. That's how I got my work placement. I thought that'd be an impossible task when I first considered my career but my determination is paying off. Your's will too...

First, get rid of the doubt in your mind, it's the only thing that'll stop any of us from chasing our dreams... I bid you good luck sir!

 

[AlmostLikeLife]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

I do have an ultimate goal, to end up as a full time wrestler on this show...

Spoiler

Might be kind of a big goal, but it's exactly what I want to do with my life. I'm still not sure exactly what steps I'll take to get there, but I feel like I'll be there someday. Raven's Nest, you gave me a good idea... talking to the trainer from that school and possibly some other wrestlers about how they got their start. Thanks for the idea.

Next couple of days are going to be about starting the foundation for my plans. Going to apply just about everywhere and see if I can't land myself a job.

Who knows, you may see me lighting up your TVs every Friday night sooner or later.

 

[Hiraeth]

To add to what Aylain has said: I know a lot of those guys have written autobiographies, or have had biographies written about them, here are some examples, I'm sure they're just the tip of the iceberg:
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781416526452/Heartbreak-and-Triumph
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781416511304/Adam-Copeland-on-Edge
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781409111498/Undisputed
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780743482677/The-Stone-Cold-Truth

If you don't want to buy them, maybe find out if your local library either has them in stock, or can order them in for you. And talk to everyone, write to your favourite wrestlers asking for advice, email any wrestling schools anywhere. See if they run camps or short courses or anything (I have no idea how they work), join every relevant online forum where people share their experiences working towards this (I'm sure they exist).

If you genuinely want this, and money is your only hurdle then it's a relatively small one. If you work any jobs that people will give you, save every penny you earn and realise that you're not going to be living comfortably for a while then you can do it. Are you living at home? That's great, you're not paying rent, it means you can save heaps. Also, having a car is overrated, do you really need one, or could you live without it? It can be a huge expense and if you can just get around on public transport instead you'll save a lot of money.

Never doubt that you can do this, and that you will do this. You have had some setbacks, but ultimately dealing with them will make you a stronger person. If this is what you want, then do it. Good luck!