So many people I speak to and come into contact these days are completely focused on success. They read books about it, go to conferences, attend seminars and essentially do all the can to figure out how to become a success. What’s most interesting to me is that very few are actually willing to do what it takes to be successful…struggle.
It seems that everyone is looking for some secret or magic formula to achieve their goals and their dreams. Yet if you ask any successful person or someone that has actually achieved amazing things, the first thing they will tell you is that they had to endure an endless amount or failure and struggle in order to get there.
Think about it for a minute. Everyone wants to get the promotion, but most don’t want to put in the extra amount of work required get it. A lot of people want to get out of debt, yet most do not want to sacrifice their caramel lattes to do so. People say they want a fulfilling marriage or relationship, yet many aren’t willing to learn to skills to communicate their needs in order to obtain it.
With success comes a certain amount of struggle. The amount of success you achieve is directly related to the amount of struggle you are willing to endure and ultimately overcome.
Think about a baseball player for a minute. A player that consistently bats 300 is considered to be among the best in the game. Yet being a 300 hitter means you are only successful 30% of the time. That means the other 70% of the time this person will fail. Only those that can struggle through a 70% failure ratio get to be among the elite in the game.
Our lives are exactly the same, yet most of us aren’t willing to struggle through our failures even 10% of the time. When we struggle to achieve or move forward our internal doubter or ass-kicking mechanism shifts into overdrive. We start telling ourselves we aren’t good enough, or things never work out and ultimately talk ourselves out of achieving greatness before we even give it a chance to get started. Sound familiar anyone?
Do yourself a favor and start looking at your struggle as an amazing opportunity to learn something new. Failure is only failing if you fail to learn something in the process. My first business coach said “You never learn anything in this life until you get your head handed to you a couple of times!” So get out there and get your head handed to you.
Believe that you are destined to become a success in every aspect of your life, and welcome the struggle as part of the process that will get you there.
Thoughts for the week:
Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. -African Proverb
Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional. -Roger Crawford
Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path. – Unknown
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. -Albert Einstein
You see a mousetrap- I see free cheese and a big problem. -Scroobius Pip
You never learn anything in this life until you get your head handed to you a few times. -Robert Bohlen
Life’s challenges aren’t supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are. –Bernice Johnson Reagon
Looking forward to our next connection
Coach Tim
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