“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”
― Tim Duncan
I remember when I was a kid in school, the teacher often asked us:” Who do you want to become when you grow up?”I can still remember the other kids in my class throwing back answers like; A firefighter! a policeman! an Astronaut! a semi-trailer truck driver! (back then it sounded really cool to have a truck, don’t ask me why), a Superhero! (I think this was my answer, even back then I had to be “special”) OR any other answers you can imagine given to you by a pure & naive childish mind. In that time, we all felt like the world is ours for the tacking and there is a bright future awaiting. We didn’t seem to be bothered by something as “minor” as paying bills, loans, having to worry about how to put food on the table or any other responsibilities in the realm of adulthood.
Those years have passed by, and you are starting to realize the hard and undeniable truth. “I am NOT a super-hero!” (That means until I will get bitten by a radioactive spider OR become super rich cynical genius-inventor, like that can happen, right?), and that LIFE can be “quite unfair” (oh boy this is a huge understatement!) and sometimes even harsh. You gradually starting to realize, like a drop of water pounding on your head in Chinese water torture, that dreams are nice but you can’t really go to buy food with just dreams and fantasies.
I present to you the top 5 rules of achieving greatness in life. Those rules have guided me through times of difficulties and unconfidence. My hope is, that they will also help you change your perspective and build that sense of urgency to start doing more for your life.
Life Is Not A Matter Of Fair Or Unfair, It’s Just Life:
You can never control the cards handed out to you, but you can definitely control the way you play with them. If you will keep saying to yourself, “It was his fault or their fault or I am not a rich because life didn’t work out the way I wanted it to be and I don’t have enough time \ money\ skills\ knowledge to become the person I always wanted to be”. Then you are just giving excuses. Just like in poker, you don’t have a control on the dealer or the cards that he will hand out to you, but you control your emotions, thoughts, perspective and how (or if) you are going to play your next move. Play wisely, make the necessary preparations, self-educate yourself and your chances will be much higher to win the game of life.
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
Goals Give Your Life A Direction:
If you don’t have plans for yourself, be sure that someone else has plans for you. I don’t wish to end up doing something I don’t like just for the sake of surviving, paying the rent and bills. If you don’t have clear goals of who you wish to become, you will just keep thrifting away slowly by the currents of life without getting anywhere. There are so many people around you that will compete for your time, whether if it’s your boss, your spouse, kids, parents, friends or just about anyone that want/need your attention. Help yourself first by putting anchors on your daily schedule to pursue what matters to you the most. Get your priorities in check and spare time to follow your goals and dreams. Do more of becoming the type of person you wish to become or you will just end up working for someone else and helping them to pursue their dreams.
Allen Saunders:
“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans”
Just Do it, Because No One Else Will Do It For You:
If you believe in an idea, if it makes sense to you, do it and stop overthinking about it. There is no such thing as perfect timing, you will keep procrastinating it until it’s too late. I wanted to begin with this blog for a long time, but somehow, I always had something on my mind that distracted me or I was just waiting for something to happen to push me in that direction. Whether if it was my hectic career in sales and business management, accomplishing my MBA, responsibilities or just about anything. It seemed that if I won’t make my first steps it will never happen.
Only when I’ve decided to start with a daily routine of writing and started to live by the “Just do it attitude”, only then things have started to roll up and a positive momentum has begun. Remember, the best time is NOW.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a one-step”
Surround Yourself With People You Love And Trust:
Your success with the people around you will determine the success you will have in your life. Always strive to become a good person to another and surround your self with people that you trust and care about the most. We are social beings, we need people around us for support and love. You will most definitely fail in every important aspect of your life (whether if it is relationship, career, school or any other activity that involves interaction) if you can’t get along with other people.
Even in the ancient wisdom of the Bible, it says in Genesis 2: 18:” It is not good that the man should be alone”.
Take Your Chances, Life Is Short, Regret Is Eternal.
It would never be the right timing, you will always have the best excuses. But remember this my friend, even the best excuse to why you are not successful or why you don’t spend more time with your loved ones is just what it is, another excuse. If you are too afraid to get off your comfort zone or keep overthinking about the outcomes of this or that, life will just slip by and leave you with miserable regrets of why didn’t you do something when you had the chance.
Just take a look at the article at Forbs by Eric Jackson: “The 25 biggest regrets in Life. What are yours?” Don’t let anyone of those regrets become yours, live your day with a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Special thanks go to:
I am grateful to my parents for the way they raised me and granted me the opportunity and the push to explore the endless possibilities of what life has to offer. My hope is that one day I will pass those principles on to my children and support them in any way I can. I believe that this is up to us to find the route to happiness and fulfillment in life. I refuse to put another nail in the coffin of mediocrity and to settle for anything less than greatness. You deserve to be happy, to achieve everything you put your mind into. Life can be amazing, life has so much to offer you if you are willing to make the sacrifice of leaving your comfort zone.
Up until next time,
Yours truly, Alex.
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