One winter, I was production a move from Las Vegas to Seattle. Most of my furniture was in storage in Vegas, so I packed all of my primary belongings in my car and I started my drive up north. I did not want to drive straight through snowy mountain passes on the solitary highways of Nevada and Oregon in order to get there, so I decided to drive over the 15 freeway toward Bakersfield, California and up the I-5 freeway. I was driving up the I-5 production great advance until I started heading up toward the Mt. Shasta pass. All of a sudden the whole I-5 pass was finished due to snow. Traffic was fully stopped. Being the goal oriented traveler as I was, I looked at my map and decided that I could take a short cut.
I took the exit for my intended shortcut and started driving on a county road and going further and further into the mountains. I laughed to myself about all the other suckers who were stuck in traffic. I kept driving on what seemed like a pretty rural roadway. I had about a half tank of gas and did not see any gas stations. I kept finding signs along the road that said "County road is not accessible in 26 miles." For some guess this did not register for me. I conception that cannot be on the map there is no indication of a finished road it loops back to the Freeway.
I was beginning to get a little worried as I did not see any cars, gas stations, or people. I just kept driving further and further into the wilderness. I kept finding down at my gas gauge that seemed to be entertaining downward right before my eyes. Then all of a sudden, I came to faultless stop without warning. A snow bank covered the road in front of me. There was no place to go. I looked down at my gas gauge and saw that I was now below a quarter tank. A feeling of panic sat in. I was then angry with myself for not just staying on the path. How could have I been so stupid. I tried to save myself a few hours and beyond doubt got myself behind for an whole day. Not to mention I could have created a snowy grave for myself, had I had gotten stuck or ran out of gas. The headlines would have read; "Stupid man dies in car because he took a shortcut and ignored the signs!"
Don't we as humans do this to ourselves all the time? Don't we get impatient to achieve our goals or advance in our job or to earn money? We conclude to take a shortcut despite all the road signs that tells us about staying on our traditional course. We ignore the signs and we keep pushing forward. "I know what I want." Then, we find ourselves hitting a snow bank with no place to go. We get mad at ourselves because had we had just stayed on our traditional path, we wouldn't have lost all that time and money that we did.
We originate false hopes for ourselves. We endeavor to achieve a quick fix to our life. That is why get rich quick schemes, lotteries, casinos, and pharmaceutical companies make so much money. The real truth is there are no quick fixes or instant successes. We only hear about population after they are thriving so we assume that they became that way instantly. "The Breakthrough Star" "The Overnight Billionaire" and "The Prodigy Athlete" are all catch phrases that we hear to quote the most recent sensation. We all admire these population and dream that we too could be like them. We think that just one day they woke up and decided to be that great thing that they are and "Puff" a star is born. We don't see the years of making ready that goes into the work that they do. We don't see the thousands of hours of practice that Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan did in order to reach to the god like status that they have achieved.
Until George Clooney joined the cast of Er and then later became a mega movie star, he had been in the acting enterprise for several years without any real success. Then he started to get notoriety and population conception that he just stumbled into acting. He took years of rejection and appeared on many failed sitcoms in order for him to get to be the someone that we now know.
Hard work, focus and determination play a big part in people's success. Yet we all want what we see on an chapter of "Mtv Cribs". We want 10 cars in the garage, the infinity pool and a built in stripper pole in the basement. That is why you don't see many high school kids wanting to work in a fast food place or be a bus someone anymore. They want to go right to the top for the fast rewards or worse yet they long to be a reality star. I am so surprised that the same "reality stars" pop up in multiple venues. They'll show up in a "Real World" then go to "Road Rules Challenge" then go to "Celebrity Fit Club" and they will make Red floor covering appearances and population will beyond doubt care what they are doing.
So what if Kim Kardashian has a great booty? Does that mean I have to watch her throw a tantrum on Tv because she is not getting all the attention while her sister's quickie marriage? But, why do we care? Maybe it is because we privately wish we could be like them. For millions of population who have not taken the time to expert a talent or be successful, we wish we could have some of the fame and notoriety of these other "no talent" population with personality disorders. Every time I find myself watching something that Paris Hilton is in, I can feel brain cells leaving my brain. Why is she famous? She was born rich and decided to capitalize on people's cravings for the glamorous and easy lifestyle. Us "normal" population eat that stuff up like candy.
We should stay on course more often. We should stick with what we conception was the right path in the first place. Being thriving in what we do requires taking small daily steps. It requires working everyday at what is our path. I can't whip out a book in a day and I can't run a marathon without making ready and practice. I have to lace up my shoes every day and get on the pavement and run. If I beyond doubt wanted to put in order for a marathon, I would talk to other marathon runners. I would read books on the subject. I would change my diet and I would do force and stamina training. I would practice by contentious in smaller runs like a 5k or 10k run. I would not just get up from bed one day after a night of drinking beers and say; "Ok, where do I sign up for this Marathon today?" (While drinking beers this might sound like a great idea.)
The same goes for everybody wishing to achieve success. You must believe in your big goals and also believe there will be daily activity required to get there. You need to put in order and do explore and learn from other population who have mastered what it is that you want. There will be disappointments, setbacks, and rejection along the way. Success is never easy that is why the rest of the masses admire the successful, because the status quo is boring. The thriving stand out, because they know that determination and hard work go along with success. There are no short cuts to getting what you want. You will have to stay on the road until the pass is cleared.
