I hate cliches, but this one holds true. There is only one life to do what you want and to have the impact on the world that you want to have, so you do not even have the time to sell yourself short and think that you are average. Everyone, every single person, has the opportunity to do something great. The reality however, is that we will never have more time than we do at this very moment, so you better get started on your dreams ASAP!
Ambition
I always found it funny when my dad would tell me that ambition was a real thing. He would say that I was lucky to have ambition. I found this funny, because I truly thought that everyone wanted to do something amazing in life, but it turns out that many people are okay with being average and aimlessly floating by. This may sound pathetic but to be perfectly honest, there are days when the grind of life gets to me as well and I think of giving up, but then I keep pushing.
I’m still a firm believer that anyone can change this mindset at anytime if they want to. In truth, you’ll see many successful people who would not have made it there without there ambition. In fact, I would argue that ambition is the number one determinant of any successful person. For example, there are many talented people within every industry, but only 1% make it to the top. There are many athletes that could have been the best in the world based on their talent, but who didn’t have the will and drive and determination to keep grinding after each loss or failure. We can say the same for singers, and business owners, and inventors.
Talent
Now, although ambition is an incredibly important success factor and will bring eventual success, talents will help you get there much faster. And the point of talents is not only to find what you are great at, but also to find out what you will love doing and what you will be passionate about. The odds are that if you have a slight edge at football for example, you’ll start to enjoy it more and more and you’ll eventually become obsessed and make it your life’s work. That is key, as most of society focuses on simply making a living, while finding your life’s work is really what is key.
How do you find your talents? Well as they say you need to try, and the younger that you try the easier it will be. So, start now. If you’re 10 years old then try singing, try rapping, try dancing, try every sport, try starting a business, try a job selling, try a finance job, try a marketing job, try teaching, try public speaking, try being a police man, try everything. If you’re older than 20, some of these may be harder to become amazing at, and you’ll likely soon be working a full time job, however, the same holds try, try everything in your free time! Maybe you wont excel at it until you are 30, but you are starting and you are trying. Execution is more important than a great idea, so keep executing and you will find your niche.
Idols
What’s crucial along this path is that you find an idol to look up to. There are many successful people in the world, and the truth is that if they were able to do something, then there is a likelihood that you can as well. Sure, you’ll need to develop the same mindsets and skillsets that they did, but will enough work, having an idol to look up to is very crucial in the path to success.
Dreams and Realities
A last important point to remember is that dreams are only dreams until you begin to go after them. So if you are not building your goals towards your dream, then you should probably stop now and change direction. If you have no dreams, then not sure what you are doing or why you wake up everyday.
Food for thought.
