Is there some magic pill I've never heard of?
Or perhaps a time machine or remote control like in the movie Click that I'm missing out on? You'd tell me, right?
Seriously, how is it that some people are able to do so much with their lives? Experience so much? Have so much success? It's as if some people are able to inhale oxygen and exhale pure awesome. King Midas had it. No, not the muffler guy, the one from Greek mythology. Go read about it.
I'm not talking about the meteoric rise and fall of the latest youtube clip or internet meme. I'm talking about people who seem to warp the laws of space-time and maintain "meteoric" levels of success over a lifetime. Lasting, sustainable success. People such as Joss Whedon, Tony Dungy, Mark Driscoll, Reed Hastings, Shay Carl, Phillip DeFranco, Dave Ramsey, Tim Sanders, Zig Ziglar, Mark Zuckerberg.... the list goes on and on. Love 'em or hate 'em, their success speaks for itself!
So how do they do it? What is their personal Rumplestiltskin that enables them to spin gold where others see only straw? Seriously, I want to know! Gold may be cold and hard, but straw is itchy to sleep on! (and gold can buy a nicer bed!)
I've been reading their books, following them on twitter, and stalking them across the internet landscape like a Japanese fanboy, trying to discover their secret. While I have yet to discern the location of the mystical fountain from whence they drink, I have noticed some themes. Ramsey always emphasizes excellence, and the power of focused intensity. Jon Acuff talks about "hustle". Shay Carl teaches his kids "Remember, work will work when nothing else will work." Going back a few years, Winston Churchill said "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
Unfortunately, it seems success doesn't come in a convenient pill, or even a smoothie. (I know, I've looked). There's not "3 Easy Steps", and nothing seems to be guaranteed. Success appears to largely be the result of that 4 letter word "work"; Especially when coupled with that other 4 letter word "hard". With apologies to Staples, there is no "easy" button. And while Lady Luck certainly also seems to play her role, Thomas Jefferson said "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more of it I have."
Often success feels so far away that it's hard not to get discouraged before you even begin. When considering these giants, I sometimes feel as if I'm looking up at Mt. Everest, thinking "How am I ever supposed to get all the way up there?? It's so far away, and I'm no Sir Edmund Hillary!" Zig Ziglar says "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." So get started! Today!!!
And when you feel overwhelmed and inadequate, stop to pray, and then take Teddy Roosevelt's advice:
Or perhaps a time machine or remote control like in the movie Click that I'm missing out on? You'd tell me, right?
Seriously, how is it that some people are able to do so much with their lives? Experience so much? Have so much success? It's as if some people are able to inhale oxygen and exhale pure awesome. King Midas had it. No, not the muffler guy, the one from Greek mythology. Go read about it.
I'm not talking about the meteoric rise and fall of the latest youtube clip or internet meme. I'm talking about people who seem to warp the laws of space-time and maintain "meteoric" levels of success over a lifetime. Lasting, sustainable success. People such as Joss Whedon, Tony Dungy, Mark Driscoll, Reed Hastings, Shay Carl, Phillip DeFranco, Dave Ramsey, Tim Sanders, Zig Ziglar, Mark Zuckerberg.... the list goes on and on. Love 'em or hate 'em, their success speaks for itself!
So how do they do it? What is their personal Rumplestiltskin that enables them to spin gold where others see only straw? Seriously, I want to know! Gold may be cold and hard, but straw is itchy to sleep on! (and gold can buy a nicer bed!)
I've been reading their books, following them on twitter, and stalking them across the internet landscape like a Japanese fanboy, trying to discover their secret. While I have yet to discern the location of the mystical fountain from whence they drink, I have noticed some themes. Ramsey always emphasizes excellence, and the power of focused intensity. Jon Acuff talks about "hustle". Shay Carl teaches his kids "Remember, work will work when nothing else will work." Going back a few years, Winston Churchill said "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
Unfortunately, it seems success doesn't come in a convenient pill, or even a smoothie. (I know, I've looked). There's not "3 Easy Steps", and nothing seems to be guaranteed. Success appears to largely be the result of that 4 letter word "work"; Especially when coupled with that other 4 letter word "hard". With apologies to Staples, there is no "easy" button. And while Lady Luck certainly also seems to play her role, Thomas Jefferson said "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more of it I have."
Often success feels so far away that it's hard not to get discouraged before you even begin. When considering these giants, I sometimes feel as if I'm looking up at Mt. Everest, thinking "How am I ever supposed to get all the way up there?? It's so far away, and I'm no Sir Edmund Hillary!" Zig Ziglar says "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." So get started! Today!!!
And when you feel overwhelmed and inadequate, stop to pray, and then take Teddy Roosevelt's advice:
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." and "Believe you can and you're halfway there."
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