There are NO secrets, there are NO shortcuts. Oh, there are truths that need to be learned or re-learned but there are a multitude of teachers and many, many sources of learning. Yes, luck can play a part and to the lazy that may appear to validate the existence of shortcuts but relying upon luck is not a workable plan. Don’t believe me? How are those lottery tickets doing financing your retirement plan?
“The Golden Rules: 10 Steps to World Class Excellence in Your Life and Work” is either a collection of platitudes or blunt, straight talk about plain truths: There are no secrets, there are no shorts cuts, it’s all about Hard Work and Constant, Focused Practice. Written by Bob Bowman who has coached Michael Phelps, the 22 Olympic Gold Medal winner, since he was 11, the core message of the book is simplicity itself: “We just do the well-known and mundane things consistently and at a higher level. Maybe with more care and more attention to detail and more enthusiasm.”
That’s it folks, the “secrets” of success: hard work and commitment. Accept it, embrace it, find your heart’s desire, your life’s purpose, your north star. Then set your course and begin anew each day, determined to grow each and every day. To be better, wiser by end of day then at dawn. Balance is key: intelligent persistence, laser focus yet open to new paths, new ways, and ever evolving goals. Dedicate yourself to these simple rules, to being the best you that you can be and you will create a grand and glorious life.
Closing Quotes
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, 1st, hard work; 2nd, stick-to-itiveness; 3rd, common sense.” – Thomas A. Edison, 1847-1931, holder of 1,093 patents
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills, 1929-2007, operatic soprano
“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564, sculptor, painter, architect, poet, engineer
“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time, who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done, if we are always doing.” – Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd USA President
As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier