There is no shortcut to
anywhere worth going.
There is no substitute
for doing the work.
Meditate on this every
day: “I will do the work.” As Einstein once said, “Genius is 1% talent and 99% effort.” You must
run to be a runner. You must write to be a
writer. You must actively attend to your
relationships if you want them to flourish.
By all means, find ways to be more efficient. But make no mistake that it takes diligent effort to build something worthwhile. There are certainly some success stories out there about people who excelled rather quickly, but you will usually find they had
put in years of related work long before anyone was paying attention to their seemingly rapid
success. In other words, their current state of achievement is simply all those years of work coming together flawlessly in the present. The most effective way to handle what must be done is to do it.
Put in the required labor. Don’t sell yourself short by taking shortcuts like these:
1. Taking the easiest
route possible.
Someday you will look
back on your life and
realize that everything
worthwhile you’ve ever
accomplished initially
challenged you. And that is as it should be,
because big challenges
often prepare ordinary
people for extraordinary success.
Every struggle arises
for a reason – for
experience or a lesson.
A great journey is never easy, and no dose of adversity along the way is ever a waste of time if you learn and grow from it.
Remember, an arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards, and such is life. When life is pulling you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to eventually launch you forward in a
positive direction. So
keep focusing, and keep
aiming!
2. Leaving everything to chance.
It’s not what you do
every once in a while, but what you dedicate
yourself to on a daily
basis that makes a
difference in the end. Having a plan, even a
flawed one at first, is
better than no plan at all.
Don’t trap yourself,
endlessly, in a state
where you are unable to ask for directions, even though you’re terribly lost , simply because you don’t know your destination. Figure out what you want. When you
get real about the true
feelings you crave, you
end up surprising yourself with an
abundance of new
opportunities and
possibilities.
3. Following the crowd.
Never let what other
people expect from you
dictate what you expect from yourself. Clarity about your true desires is so liberating because you get to stop proving yourself to everyone, including yourself. We have all been placed on this earth to discover
our own way, and we will
never be happy if we live
someone else’s idea of
life. So stop being ashamed of how you
feel. You have the right
to feel any emotion that
comes to you, and to
follow a path that makes
you happy. Don’t compare yourself to
others, or get
discouraged by the
success of others.
Follow your intuition,
never give up on yourself, and stop
expecting others to
understand your
journey, especially if
they have not walked
your same path.
5. Putting things off.
Be frank with yourself. The things you say you will deal with later rarely get done. It’s time to get up and make an
immediate difference in your life. You know all those things you’ve been meaning to get done for the past month, year, etc.? Pick one right now
and start doing it. Get your hands dirty,
challenge your mind, and get sweaty if you have to. Break out of your comforting lull and get involved. If you feel crummy, it’ll make you feel better. If you already feel good, it will make you feel great.
Ultimately, you will not be judged by what you say; you will be judged by what you do. Wake up each morning determined, so you can go to bed satisfied.
Have the courage and
discipline today to do
what is needed instead
of simply what is
convenient.
5. Ignoring people
instead of forgiving
them.
Forgetting people who
hurt you is your gift to
them; forgiving people
who hurt you is your gift to yourself. Always
forgive others, not because they
necessarily deserve
forgiveness, but
because you deserve
peace of mind. We are all one, so when we forgive others we forgive
ourselves, which is the
first step in the healing
process. Without
forgiveness, the
potential for true happiness in your life is
limited.
In addition, we often tell
ourselves that we’re
better off without some
people in our lives, and
while this can be true,
you should also build forgiveness into your
character. Keep in mind
that some relationships
will temporarily split,
only to come back
together twice as strong as before. Forgiveness
alone makes this
possible.
6. Cutting too many
corners with your
important relationships.
It hurts to love someone
and not be loved in return, but what hurts
even more is to love
someone and never find the time to let them know how you feel.
There is no
greater sadness than
holding on to the loving
words and deeds you
never delivered to those you love. The people you take for
granted today may turn out to be the only ones you need tomorrow. So make plenty of time for
those who truly matter . The best gift you can
give them is the purity of
your full attention. Just
be present with them and
pay attention to the little
things, because when you really miss someone, you
miss the little things the
most, like just laughing
together.
Afterthoughts
The journey begins when we are born. The destination is death. So the journey is far superior to the
destination. Don’t sell yourself short! Make
your journey worthwhile every single day, because the distance we
each get to travel is a
mystery.
Getting where you want to go in life is not about finding a shortcut, it’s about putting in the
required time and
effort. You have to set goals and fulfill your commitments, even when no one would notice but you, and know in your heart why doing so matters.
