Would you like to be promoted at work?
Do you want a higher salary? To be held in higher regard? To be more respected? To be more included?
Do you want to leave your job and work somewhere else, or try something different?
Have you always wanted to be a marine?
Maybe you want to start a new habit, like daily meditation, regular exercise, or blogging?
Have you got an idea for a start up business or invented a product?
Then listen up.
What the hell are you waiting for?
You are wrong if you think any of these things are beyond you. You are also wrong if you think any of these things happen by luck or chance. These things are not outside of you, they are within you.
But let me tell you this – You’ve got to be prepared to work for them.
You know me by now, I’m not going to bullsh!t you, so here’s the rub. There is no sugar coating of this, you need to pull your finger out, stop day dreaming and start doing.
You need to get serious about it.
It’s unlikely to happen overnight, but it can (and will) happen if you set yourself to the task. There will be sacrifices that you need to make. There will be failures along the way.
Nothing comes for free. You will definitely have to invest time, and maybe some money to succeed. That’s real life. Get over it and get on with it.
You might look at other people in the office and think it comes easy to them. That they are gifted or have some magical powers. That they are lucky because they were given different opportunities to you.
Nope – they are humans, just like you and me.
I’ve been writing this blog for a year now. At least one post every week (apart from xmas). I love it, but it’s hard work. It takes time. It takes patience. It does not come easy (the last part is probably obvious).
No luck. Definitely no super powers (although that doesn’t stop me occasionally wearing my pants over the top of my trousers). Just time, effort and determination.
I sacrifice time to it at home and on my daily commute. I read less books because of it. I have more early mornings and less time overall in my week because of it. But if I want to be a half decent blogger, to practice and learn how to do it, to improve, this is what it takes.
In order to attempt new things or make a change in your life, you just need to get off your arse and make a start. That part really is that easy.
But in order to succeed, to reach your goals, to learn, to grow, to win, you need to be prepared to break a sweat. To stick with it and not give up at the first sign of difficulty. To persevere when you don’t feel like it.
David Beckham wanted to be the best at free kicks. So what did he do? Practice. Hours upon hours of practice. He didn’t give up. He didn’t throw in the towel. I’m pretty sure he got bored sometimes and that he made sacrifices. But it paid off.
I sat on the beach this morning watching a teenager learning to kite surf. He was struggling and getting very frustrated with his dad’s words of encouragement. But he stayed in the water and kept trying. He did get up occasionally, but more often than not he fell, lost the board or the kite came down. He was there yesterday, and I’m sure he’ll be there again tomorrow. It’s going to take much more than that to master his craft but by the end of the week he will be better than at the start because of his hard work. Because he’s taking action rather than being passive. Because of doing it rather than merely thinking about it.
The same principles apply to you and me.
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You can’t achieve your dreams without it.
No-one is going to give you that promotion for nothing. You’re not going to be in the running for a pay rise unless you deserve it, and you’ve worked hard for it.
But the good news?
It’s right there for you. If you want it – you can pause, take a breath, then reach out and take it.
The only person stopping you is you.
Life is short, but there is still time to become whom ever you want to be. You just need to be prepared to work for it.
