Don’t Take Detours..Go the Distance
I would walk 500 miles for my dreams to come true, would you? Or would you stop along the way and “settle” for a half dream? Or would you not even make it out the door because some sort of self-doubt? These are real conversations that you need to have with yourself. I always say this and maybe it will be my slogan for my writings and podcasts. You [the person you see in the mirror] is the ONLY person who will stop you from becoming successful. You are never poor or broke, if you are willing to get up, fight, don’t take detours and go the distance. It is that simple. Come on guys. There is no magic fairy dust that will make you successful. Overnight successes don’t exist. Nobody is going to just hand you money. You will have to go the distance here, that is IF you really want your dreams.
Do you want your dreams to come true? Well, that will require you going to the distance less traveled. That will require you to not get distracted with what could look like a shortcut or some success secret E-Book. The reality of that matter is those shortcuts in life could set you back months, years and maybe decades from where you need to be. How many times have you eaten something and said oh man I shouldn’t have eaten so much [think Thanksgiving]. I am with ya here. That is hard for me to say no too. But I workout everyday to get leaner and meaner. How far did Thanksgiving dinner set me back? I am not sure that I can answer that. But I do know it did. The hard part? Everyone was doing it. Light bulb moment. That is how you know you might not want to do it. Mom’s are famous for saying, “If little Billy jumped off the cliff would you do it too?” When we were kids we would probably answered, well yea Mom. But just because someone else is doing it doesn’t mean you need. Truth be told, next Thanksgiving I may or may not eat as much. That is still unknown. But I am aware of the trap that will surely set me back if I do.
This is just the tip of the iceberg though. When you start compounding these small shortcuts, over time they become big sacrifices. That set you far back. See it is hard to see that doing small things and giving into small shortcuts overtime time become big issues. For this reason people generally don’t work out for that many months after they start, like after New Years. They don’t see any instant payoff or gratification and they move on and they rationalize it somehow. Or say I will just go tomorrow. Tomorrow soon becomes 10 years later.
These are just simple shortcuts in life. There are infinite amount of detours and traps just waiting to take you off course. If you are religious or not you can relate to this quote from Joel Osteen, “The enemy doesn’t fight you for where you are. He fights you for where you’re going. Break out and live an overcoming life.” See the enemy wants you get stuck in the detour. He doesn’t want you taking more ground for your kingdom.
The big takeaway here? You [the person you see in the mirror] is the ONLY person who will stop you from becoming successful. You are never poor or broke if — you are willing to get up, fight, don’t take detours and go the distance. It is that simple. I believe in you guys. Chloe [my cat] believes in you. Keep going. Don’t let the little foxes of life ruin your vineyard — Song of Solomon 2:15.
Chris Martin