Successful people speak of persistence, which I believe includes having patience. Maybe you need to be patient before you can have your dream home, the job you want, or the relationship you seek…And sometimes the time in which our dreams come true is not ours but God’s time. In any case, we later find out that time was perfect. Sometimes we feel like the universe is working against us, but maybe it’s just not the right time to receive what we have asked for. So, we must be patient, because it will allow us to avoid excuses like “I can’t” or “it’s too difficult.” In situations like these, have faith! Be patient!
Are we willing to do what it takes? If we want to hit the gym, but only have time to exercise early in the morning, are we willing to get up at the crack of dawn? Sometimes we’ll have to work on the weekends to achieve a goal, but if we say, “I don’t work on the weekends” and stick to it, our unwillingness to commit stands in opposition to what we say we want. It’s also an indication that our desire for something is probably not strong enough. If we’re unwilling to do what it takes to achieve our goal, then we have to be completely honest with ourselves and own up to it.
Millionaires are created at midnight…when you are asleep! Yet, you don’t want to get up early nor work on the weekends. That can make the difference between you and them! This is why you shouldn’t think the grass is greener on the other side, because you don’t know what they did to get to where they are. So, the only thing that really matters is your willingness to do what it takes or not.
In my case, I had employees much younger than me who told me they weren’t going to work as hard. I work seven days a week and do what I have to do in order to get the work done. I understand not everyone has the same work ethic — there’s no wrong or right way to be — but we reap what we sow.
It’s important you find your calling, something you love to do so much, you cannot call it work. Remember what they say, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.” Find what you love, what motivates you, and what you would do even if you didn’t get paid to do it. Work hard at it, and you’ll find yourself enjoying every step of the way.
To those who aren’t willing to work hard, I tell them to not envy or criticize others, nor complain. If you want something different, you have to think and act differently.
If you’re scared of going after what you want, you probably haven’t yet realized what your true calling is, or you have too many internal programs interfering inside you.
Only you, alone in silence with yourself, can determine which path to follow. But don’t bother taking a path you know you’ll eventually give up on. Focus your energy properly!
Don’t give up!
We often give up too soon. We lack faith in ourselves and the universe. Winston Churchill said, “Success consists in going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Passion and “failure” are linked. “Failure” is part of the path we have to travel. If I’m doing what I’m passionate about, and things go wrong, I can’t call it a failure. It just means I’m learning and growing, and when I finally find success, it will be even greater than I expected.
Thomas A. Edison discovered the lightbulb after thousands of tries. Do you think he though he failed a thousand times? No. He said it himself, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Edison’s philosophy is aligned with what Og Mandino said, “Failure will never overtake me, if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” He has also said that if you fail, it is because you didn’t even bother to try.
It is said that walls aren’t there to stop us, but to see how high we’re willing to jump.
We need those obstacles — though they often feel like trials, in reality they are opportunities — just like we need those moments of hard work and sacrifice to make sure that the path we have chosen is the correct one for us. If I immediately come to the conclusion that “this isn’t for me,” if I allow a hurdle or distraction to become an excuse to stop me, then I wasn’t really going after that which is my passion. In order to follow through all the way, I must be sure that what I’m doing is truly what I should be doing.
And remember that challenges also have value, because as we work to overcome them, we become even more skillful in our talent. That’s how we become experts in what we’ve chosen to do.
So, remember to persist, be patient, and never, never give up!
Originally published at medium.com