You Can Be Exceptional

You Can Achieve Anything

The media tells us stories about great achievements by people who appear to be superhuman. Great athletes, fantastic singers, super-models and actors all vying for our attention appear to be “special” or “better” than regular people. We are led to believe that they have some special gift that was bestowed upon them by almighty God that makes them superior to the rest of us. Billionaires, who live lifestyles un-dreamed of by the other 99% of people who seem to have it all. When we find ourselves star-struck by these people, try to remember that they all have one thing in common. They are only human. 

Small efforts

Statistics show us that most great achievements are the result of multiple small efforts repeated habitually over a long period of time. Small incremental steps that built upon one another until a great achievement is the end result. This is how is is done most of the time. The media tells the stories of overnight success because it is rare - that is why it is newsworthy. It leads us to believe that the sensational, once in a lifetime skyrocket to fame and fortune is the way that it is done - some random spark of serendipity from the heavens choses a certain person to bestow riches or fame upon and BAM, it happens. The reason the media focuses on overnight success is that is not normal. The media is all about sensationalism. They want to tell stories about things that are rare and exceptional because that makes headlines. The fact of the matter is, great achievements are rarely newsworthy. They are the result of hard work, persistence and preparation. Really boring stuff that would not inspire advertisers to purchase air time because no one would watch. 

But here is the good news.

The results - ie. the lifestyle or success that these people enjoy is still possible. It is there for the taking. You can have it as much as they can. You have the ability to achieve anything you set your mind to. The world is abundant and there is no shortage of information out there to help you to succeed. You just need to learn some new skills and then learn to use those new skills. This is a process that takes time, it takes effort and it requires you to fail - sometimes over and over again. But it is still possible. It is not glamourous. It is not usually newsworthy. It is mundane and sometimes painful. But it is still possible. We are led to believe that being rich or achieving greatness is a pipe dream, because we suspect that it is a matter of luck, timing, connections or genetic superiority. Sure, sometimes those things help and sometimes they don’t - there are many people who were very talented who achieved very little with their talents, because they were unwilling to persevere and do what is necessary to achieve their goals.

Don’t Give Up 

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In the book, “Grit” by Angela Duckworth, the author offers a great perspective on what actually is the key to success in life - (big surprise) grit.  The title gives it away. But one facet of this philosophy that makes it powerful is breaking down the path to success into  two distinct processes. My mind was blown by the implications of this idea. 

First, you must develop skills or “talent”, as they say. This requires effort. You may acquire skills or talent at different rates depending on your natural abilities, but they are there to be cultivated. Accept your own personal path and do it. Put in the necessary effort level that applies to YOU personally. There is no shortcut to this. 

Then step two: 

You learn how to use your skills or talent. This requires effort as well. These processes are two distinct activities, both requiring an individual amount of effort. So many naturally talented people fail because they believe that talent and skill will automatically get them where they want to go. They fail to realize that execution and the implementation of skills is a skill of its own. You can prepare all you want for life, but you have to live it in order to get good at it. 

This is why so many self help gurus belabour the idea of massive action. Action is the key activity that allows us to take what we know and figure out how to use it in the world. This is  often an exercise in trial and error. This is the reason they say if you want to succeed in life, fail faster. We have to make sure we consider both halves of this equation - work on skills/knowledge + work on execution. Both require work or effort. This is where many people’s ambitions fall apart as they think that just being prepared and knowing theory will automatically make them great. It is the illusion that if you graduate from Harvard business school you are an expert in business in the real world. 

You Can Do It!

The point of this is to let you know that you have the ability to achieve anything you want if you are willing to pay the price. As Brian Tracy says - achieving goals is a simple formula: 

Determine what you want.

Figure out what the price is.

Get busy paying that price. 

There is no additional steps suggested there like “find a shortcut” or “join the illuminati”. There is just hard work and determination and being willing to not know what you are doing for a while.

Being willing to fail.

Being willing to learn and being willing to build your skills slowly day after day by doing all the boring incremental steps towards your goal. 

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. 

You are just as likely to achieve greatness as the next guy. This is great news! You now know that success and abundance aren’t impossible or a secret that is whispered between the elite at charity auctions. It is a formula. A really boring one that takes time and effort. People don’t like to hear that part, but the good news is that it is actually possible! It is real. There is no witchcraft involved. You just need a plan.

Invest in Yourself 

Find someone who has done what you want to do and learn from them. There are so many books and programs that you can use to get there. You might be aware that you have great opportunities to do great things, yet are afraid because so few actually ever do it. Now you know why there are so few that actually do. Now you know that it is possible. And “possible” sure sounds great to me. If I am dreaming about a goal I want, believing that it is possible is a MASSIVE first step. It is actually impossible to achieve anything if we think that it is impossible because  we would never start. If we actually learn that our lofty goal is there for the taking if we just follow the steps in the right order, then that brings that dream closer to  reality. We need to accept the price that will need to be paid. That price is usually just time and effort. We need to make it a priority and be willing to learn. We might actually need to be willing to un-learn a few things and let go of a few assumptions that are holding us back. 

So great news! You can have what you wish for! The bad news, it won’t be magic or luck that gets it for you. You have to earn it. If you can accept that and become who you need to be in order to achieve it then you are on your way. Learn the skills, then learn to use the skills. Both steps take work, but it will be worth it. It is not what you achieve, but who you become in the pursuit of your achievements that really matters.