Preparation

Everyone wants to be successful, but not everyone wants to do what it takes to be successful. Preparation is paramount in acheiving your goals.

As we look up to successful business men and women, athletes, companies, etc. we don’t realize how difficult it was for those people to get where they are. Often I hear people say “Wow! Why in the world is that athlete (or actor) making so much money to have fun?!”. First off, that person makes that much money because the market said so. Enough people pay attention to what they’re doing, therefor they make that much money. Secondly, that person undoubtedly had to bust their keister to get to that point.

We just don’t see all the behind the scenes work.

Now lets turn the page and look at ourselves. We have aspirations of greatness, now it’s just a matter of getting there. How do we do that? We do it by setting a pace that we previously thought impossible. We devise a plan and set that plan in motion EVERY SINGLE DAY. Personally, I write out my weekly plan and then break it down with my day to day plans. Check them off as you go and grind.

Recently I read Shoe Dog, a memoir by Phil Knight. Phil Knight created Nike, one of the biggest brands in the world. I was excited to dive into this book and hear about all the successes of Knight. I wanted to see how I could implement these tactics in my own life. I was shocked as to how many roadblocks he came about. Obviously there was going to be adversity, but this was way more than I anticipated. What I learned from that book and Knight was that nothing replaces good, old fashioned grit.

When many others wouldn’t have had the stomach, Knight pushed on despite what everyone told him. He wanted to win and he definitely didn’t want to lose. It is imperative we attack life in this same way. See your goals and prepare yourself with unwavering tenacity.

Winning may occur at the end of a race, sporting event, or after we accomplish a goal. Losing, however, occurs before the event begins.