Effort is between you and you.
I think a lot about what makes things work, what makes things happen, what makes success. To be clear, I don’t mean the wins that flash by on highlight reels in social media, but lasting and true success, “Lives Changing” success.
Ray Lewis gives a stirring speech on success in the video above at the University of Miami football camp. Click to watch the video approx 2mins.
“I wasn’t the #1 recruit. I wasn’t the #1 linebacker. I wasn’t the media guy.”
Don’t we often feel like that?
- Not the cutest.
- Not the smartest.
- Not the tallest.
- Not the richest.
- Not the funniest.
- Not the strongest or fastest.
But, as Ray indicates –
- Effort will get the job done.
- Effort erases excuses.
- Effort is entirely under our control.
- Effort, Ray says, “Is between you and you.”
“Lives Changing” success. The good news is that it isn’t all about you. In this world full of narcissism, the people who really matter, matter because of what they mean to other people.
Think of your “Lives Changing” business.
- Your business employs and provides for your family & staff.
- Your positive entertainment experience delivers joy to people.
- Your care, empathy, and coaching of your team builds stronger team members at work and in their lives at large.
- Your choice to volunteer and give back from your business’s profits builds the community.
- Your gracious parenting strengthens your kids as they become adults.
…or not.
It would be easy to go through life bitter and sarcastic, to lash out when you are frustrated, to tear down a staff member who made a big mistake, to compare your kid to everyone else’s kid, and to cling to every last dollar to spend someday on yourself.
The difference is effort – your effort.
Ray Lewis spent 16 years in the NFL at the pinnacle of his sport, pro bowls Super Bowls, and he didn’t start as the #1 draft pick.
Heaven knows I wasn’t the #1 draft pick for the pros, for high school soccer, or elementary dodgeball for that matter, but you and I still matter.
All it takes is effort, something over which you have complete control.
Have a great week,
Hugh
