My son continues to amaze me. Yesterday, he received his black belt in Aikido. That’s on top of his black belt in Karate that he earned two years ago. Unfortunately, in Aikido there aren’t competitions so he doesn’t have any trophies or medals lying around the house. However, if you popped into his room, you’d see his 14 trophies and medals he won in Karate, and downstairs he has another 20 or so medals from swimming.
Some of you might be thinking that I’m just showing off. While I’m proud, the truth is any child can replicate my son’s success. He wasn’t born with any natural gifts. I was never on any sports teams as a child. I just played for fun. The first trophy I ever got was at the age of 40 when I joined a Karate competition. My wife was on her swim team, but she never competed at an elite level, just local events. It certainly wasn’t genes. So how did he do it?
The Real Secret
My son’s success came from one simple thing – hard work and dedication.
Crazy, right? So often people look for secrets as to how people are able to achieve incredible things in the sports world or in business. While there certainly are some amazing stories, most successful people did it through hard work and discipline.
In the movie The Secret, they talk about the power of belief. That if we just think strongly enough, it’ll happen. I’m here to say that’s just bullsh*t.
Belief is where it begins, but between that and success is a whole lot of effort and time. I remember listening to an interview with a friend of mine who has a black belt in four different martial arts. The podcaster was impressed when he heard that, but my friend said it wasn’t a big deal and anyone could do it. The only difference between him and other people was that he put in the time.
Your Future is in Your Hands
2020 has indeed been a tough year for many people. Believe me, I feel your pain. I lost many of my clients and my business suffered. On top of that, my family had a health scare which was touch and go for a while. Regardless of where you find yourself today, you have to remember that your future lies in your hands, literally and metaphorically.
Darren Hardy once explained to his audiences that our smartphones give us more access to knowledge than the Pentagon has in 1986. The Pentagon! Whether you’re using your smartphone, tablet or PC to read this article, you have access to vast sums of information. Unfortunately, most people will simply use it to watch Fortnite tips on YouTube, check out TikTok videos, read the latest celebrity gossip, listen to the newest jams or spend hours on Amazon searching for your next purchase. I gave up most (not all) of that years ago.
My Investment
I made my choice. I realized that I couldn’t build my dream and take care of my family while playing video games, watching TV and listening to music. Some had to go. I learned to invest my time into my future which is something I passed on to my son.
Most people don’t view time as an investment, but it’s honestly the greatest thing we have, because where we spend our time is where we will get our results. If you’re like the average American who spends about 78,000 hours watching TV, you’re bound to have vast amounts of knowledge pertaining to movies and TV shows.
I’m the first person to admit I do love a good TV show. Seinfeld, Game of Thrones, Endeavour, Castle and more are just a few of my favorites. And yet, these days, I am lucky if I can watch one hour of TV a day. Why? Because I chose to invest my time into other ventures. These days, I spend a lot of time writing and reading. Writing to get my ideas out, and reading to stimulate new ideas.
It’s All Up to You
As I like to say to all my clients – the choice is yours. But life waits for no one. Today is the youngest you’re ever going to be. Whether you want to start your own online business, become a YouTube sensation or become a world-class athlete, get started today.
We don’t lack the knowledge; smartphones took care of that. We don’t lack the contacts; social media took care of that. We might not have the money, but it costs nothing to pick up a book at the local library, jog around the block or reach out to someone.
It’s not “Can I?” It’s “Will I?”
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