What It Takes
The question I'm asked the most, usually enthusiastically in the hopes of learning something, and occasionally accompanying the suggestion I don't deserve what I have, is "how?" How did I get here, or how do I pull it all off? And ironically, I have the same answer for all those asking.
First and foremost I know buying into the belief that there is only one way to succeed is just like never even trying to succeed at all; thinking one must first be wildly beautiful, rich, brilliant, or athletically gifted is just an excuse to avoiding having to find another way, as in woe is me. Bah.
I know to be successful one simply needs the guts to first be an original at something, and I say an original because success is only real success if we own it. If Jethro copies Aristotle's math test, that "A" isn't his "A" and never will be. He may get the sticker and pass the class, but his incompetence will eventually out him.
I know beyond originality one then needs some good old-fashioned trial and error along with an especially stubborn, flame-retardant will. And I know the latter is monumentally important above all else because throughout history it's proven far easier to criticize from the warm wrap of the crowd than it ever has been to stand out there in the elements, alone, having nothing but an idea and the audacity to believe in oneself.
I know I have and will never compromise my convictions in order to silence nay-sayers, as I've found it far more satisfying to simply prove them wrong.
And finally I know success is not this Holy Grail, lost in time if it ever existed at all. It's our birthmark. Each of us is born a success already. We are the product of that one little swimmer out of the countless; the one that much stronger who dared to endure that much more, so clearly every one of us already has what it takes. The only trick is in finding where our talents lie, then in having the courage to grab them up by their shirts and demand they take us somewhere. That is how I've come to have, be and do everything I've ever had, been and done, and I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with the path so far.
First and foremost I know buying into the belief that there is only one way to succeed is just like never even trying to succeed at all; thinking one must first be wildly beautiful, rich, brilliant, or athletically gifted is just an excuse to avoiding having to find another way, as in woe is me. Bah.
I know to be successful one simply needs the guts to first be an original at something, and I say an original because success is only real success if we own it. If Jethro copies Aristotle's math test, that "A" isn't his "A" and never will be. He may get the sticker and pass the class, but his incompetence will eventually out him.
I know beyond originality one then needs some good old-fashioned trial and error along with an especially stubborn, flame-retardant will. And I know the latter is monumentally important above all else because throughout history it's proven far easier to criticize from the warm wrap of the crowd than it ever has been to stand out there in the elements, alone, having nothing but an idea and the audacity to believe in oneself.
I know I have and will never compromise my convictions in order to silence nay-sayers, as I've found it far more satisfying to simply prove them wrong.
And finally I know success is not this Holy Grail, lost in time if it ever existed at all. It's our birthmark. Each of us is born a success already. We are the product of that one little swimmer out of the countless; the one that much stronger who dared to endure that much more, so clearly every one of us already has what it takes. The only trick is in finding where our talents lie, then in having the courage to grab them up by their shirts and demand they take us somewhere. That is how I've come to have, be and do everything I've ever had, been and done, and I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with the path so far.
posted by Wil at 11:27 AM
8 Comments:
It's "far easier to criticize from the warm wrap of the crowd than it ever has been to stand out there in the elements, alone, having nothing but an idea and the audacity to believe in oneself."
So well put, well-stated. Couldn't agree more. I'm curious as to what inspired this little post :)
Well now I feel like I could do just about anything. Thanks for the mojo IW!
Your post made me think about this guy http://www.jimmaclaren.com/ then I get in the car and he is being talked about on the radio. There has to be something to all of this.
And then my word verification is poem.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a [hu]man, my [friend]!
~ Rudyard Kipling
Edits by AJ
Thanks everyone. Erin, in a nutshell, I'd say the motivation for this post was the recent collision of my patience wearing much too thin for people who spend their time constructing excuses instead of better bridges to their own success, and my one day of PMS ;) I can usually let it slide, but sometimes I just have to call a spade a spade.
Scott, cool! Go conquer the world man :)
Triseverance, wow that guy is pretty inspiring. Thanks for the link!
And AJ, my friend with the gift of perfect timing... thank you for speaking my language, and for understanding. That's exactly what I needed to read today.
Have I got this right?
I should ditch the excuses and lower my expectations to the point where being in the bottom 3% is considered successful. (Bottom 3% after a dnf and giving my "best" for a year.)
Hey anonymous, I don't see you riding that time machine for free. Have I got that right?
Way to prove Wil's post, you can't even show your face. Is that what you call being a success? Go play in traffic buddy.
Thanks for the chivalry, Andrew :)
And Anon, dude I gotta be honest, part of me really wants to help you understand, and part of me thinks you're just some unhappy jerk out to waste my time, so I'll keep this short just to be safe ;)
Like I said in the post, success is not an absolute, one-size fits all state of being. I'm not saying to lower your expectations, if success for you is wrapped up in a clock, cool, then spend your time training to get faster, but it's pretty naive for you to judge me by your personal standard. We are different people with different lives, and while you may or may not kick my ass in a 70.3, the same can be said for me baking you under a table or in helping teenagers get their lives together.
I don't want to spend my time training to make some percentage, I'd rather be here to see my kids off to school every morning. We all have our priorities, and I choose to be good at what is at the top of that list for me. To tell you the truth, I can't think of better definition of success than that. Good luck to you man.
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