One afternoon, I was walking up the stairs of a 3-story building where I lived with a friend of mine. When we got to the top floor, he asked me, “Nigel, how do you manage to walk up and down these stairs every day?” “He’s shooting,” he added. I smiled, looked at her and said: “It’s just that I’m used to it and you’re not.”
End of story.
What is the essence of telling you that story? It is because I need you to clarify this point: “NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT OR DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE, OR YOU ARE NOT USED OR LACK OF PASSION”.
Back in high school days, some of my classmates had the belief that math was hard and therefore they just didn’t like the math teacher and never paid attention in any of his classes. The result? Few of the lucky ones escaped with E, but most failed miserably.
There were also some who initially thought that math was difficult, but when they tried to solve the questions on their own, paid more attention to the teacher, and tried to solve the questions again and again, they became better and good. Then they realized that mathematics was easy and they got excellent results.
What am I trying to point out here? Getting to that point where something admirable becomes second nature to you is the goal. I call that point the ‘elastic limit’. You accomplish this subconsciously through constant repetitive activity. That’s when your entire system adapts to it and it becomes easy to do it every time.
If you are very observant, you will realize that the most successful people in any field have one thing in common. They are always relaxed, calm and collected when they are performing.
Did they master it overnight? Not! A big No. Rather, they have invested time to master their skills over and over again until it became an integral part of them.
Smart and motivated people understand that excellence is a habit. That is why they strive to GET USED TO doing those things necessary to achieve the dream they are passionate about.
There is no great magic in it. Most people are not successful because they are not passionate about what they do or because they give up too easily.
Passion for what you choose to do is very important. It’s the fuel that keeps you going until you cross that ‘yield limit’ threshold where everything becomes very easy. Therefore, you must be passionate about the goal you have in mind.
On a final note, some people like to ask the question:
“How long will it take?”. I feel like that question is for losers looking for a reason to back out or for shortcuts.
They lack the necessary passion and dedication to walk the path and this is why they want to be given a particular time where they can look forward to relaxing and quitting.
The truth is: whoever is willing is willing. If you are truly determined to succeed at anything and have a strong drive to do so, you will be willing to walk the path repeatedly for as long as it takes to reach the goal you have in mind.
This can be applied to achieve success in any area of life ranging from your career, relationships, lifestyle, habits, character, and much more.
until next time,
-Nigel.