Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts.” — Coleman Cox
Legendary LSU basketball coach, Dale Brown once wrote that there are three basic types of people who desire success. There are those who just want to roll out of their bed and become successful. Then there are those who so engrossed in learning the tricks of the trade that they never actually learn the trade. Lastly, there are those who are willing to pay the price to attain success. That price is hard work and perseverance. And there are no two characteristics that are more closely related to excellence.
But a dedicated work ethic and the willingness to persevere until one’s desired success is achieved are not traits that come without a price. You must be driven from within, or as Coach Vince Lombardi put it, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of determination.”
One of the main reasons why so many people don’t recognize the opportunity for success that each of us has equal access to is because success usually comes disguised as hard work. When individuals are unwilling or unable to sacrifice and risk failure for the very thing, they want the most, it most often remains hidden, illusive, and ultimately unattainable. For without hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance our dreams remain just dreams. As the Japanese proverb teaches: the formula for achievement remains fall seven times, stand up eight. Simply, you just must want it.
There is a tale that exemplifies the principle that he who conquers is he who endures. It is a tale of a young man who was impatient for knowledge and success. So, he decided to seek the counsel of Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher. Boldly, the student asked, “Socrates, how may I obtain enlightenment and success?”
Socrates then led the student to a nearby pond where he suddenly grabbed his pupil by the neck and pushed his head under the water. The young man struggled and fought with all he had before he was finally able to defeat Socrates’ grasp and push his head from the engulfing waters of the pond. Stunned and amazed the student gasped, “Teacher, what’s the matter with you? I asked how to acquire wisdom and success and in response you tried to drown me!”
Socrates calmly answered, “When you want wisdom and success as much as you just wanted air, you will then acquire it.”
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them. ~G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, 1893
Have an AWE-full weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque