Posts Tagged ‘Persistence’

“I’m a pretty tough guy. Are you a tough guy? You look pretty tough. So you’ve just got to keep going on going, even when folks are criticizing you, when you know you’re doing it for other people.”

That’s what US President Barack Obama said when a young fourth grader asked him the poignant question, “Why do people hate you”.

Now, I’m not here to talk about politics but this quote from Obama shouldn’t be taken lightly. In fact, in it is great wisdom. You see, every time you step up and outside from what the masses are doing, you’re immediately open to criticism for not following the normal conventions of society.

Have you noticed that? Perhaps you yourself were criticized for trying to do something which you felt was for the greater benefit not just for yourself but for your family and community yet it seems people will always give stick to those who tend to stand out.

My contention is, when people criticize you for what you’re doing, you’ve hit a nerve within them and expose their own weakness. Ever had a cousin or brother in law give you hell because you decided to start a home based business? Sounds funny but it happens, Believe me (and no not the brother in law, My brothers in law couldn’t be cooler!).But the reason this occurs is you’ve stepped up and taken responsibility for your results and you want to help other. Now they might be too afraid or too lazy to join you or do something themselves so rather than lift you up… they drag you down. Kind of like crabs in a barrel!

One of my business colleagues told me that they never have to put a lid on a barrel of crabs for fear of them escaping. Why? because when one does try to venture out, the other crabs just pull them back down. Has that ever happened to you?

Rejection and criticism are a staple for anybody who decides to go from ordinary to extra ordinary. A business person may face rejection, an athlete pain, a leader criticism but if you know what you’re doing is right by your, your family and by your creator then don’t let anyone get you down.

One thing Thai boxing taught me was you’re going to get hit… hard! And even if you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up and keep coming forward. Remember what Rocky Balboa said, “It ain’t about how hard you can hit but about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…”

I leave you with a fantastic quote by Theodore Roosevelt,

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”

Remember, they’ve never made a statue of a critic so when you know you’re doing the right thing, be tough and keep moving forward!

Until next time,

Keep Shining!

Fahad x

I recently visited a Gloria Jeans coffee franchise and picked up their loyalty card. I actually didn’t pay any attention to the loyalty card as i’m such a coffee fiend, i have massed various loyalty cards from different establishments over the years. Today however, I was reaching into my pocket and pulled this one out. It had an incredible slogan on it.

Just above the cartoon image of a rather sophisticated looking characature of a coffee bean was the slogan “The road to Success is ALWAYS under construction”

Isn’t that the truth!?

Whilst success is open to interpretation from person to person, the universally accepted definition of success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. In otherwords, we progress towards our ideal of success on a daily basis thus truly making success a journey and not a destination!

Now, whilst this post maybe full of clichés on the subject of success, I want to indicate just why success is a journey and not a destination!

it is said that success happens daily and not in a day. What does this mean? well, too many confuse success with the task of actually accomplishing a goal or an ideal. Now, whilst the end result is often what we see when we look at successful people, the fast cars, the big houses, the fancy designer clothes (if indeed these are your definitions of success), we must look deeper into the person to realise what success is to that person.

I remember hearing motivational speaker and income acceleration coach Pat Messiti once say that average people focus on the fruit whilst successful, world class thinkers focus not on the fruit, nor on the tree that bore it but on the seed!

You see the truly successful understand that it’s not the end result that’s important. Whilst the goal of the end result keeps them motivated and on track. What’s important to successful people is that they are building themselves up and are gearing themselves up for the rewards. They understand that foundations are more important than what you see on the surface.

They are like Icebergs. What you see on the surface of an iceberg is typically 20% at most of the total mass of the ice berg. That means a whopping 80-90% of the ice is actually under the water and that is what makes them so potent! It was the foundation, not the tip of the iceberg that sunk the titanic! - And remember, foundations like that of an iceberg take time to build. Sometimes, you may be going for a goal but feel like you keep missing but if you are working towards a goal and are allowing yourself to learn in the process, your foundations grow and grow until your success will begin to surface above the water and when you tackle the obstacles head on, no matter how large the obstacle is, like the titanic, you will cut through!

So, Remember, the road to success is ALWAYS under construction. Remember you are not the finished article and most likely never will be either! Enjoy the journey

I leave you with with a quote from Melvin Trotter -

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming…Wow! What a ride!”

Until next time, Keep Shining!

Fahad x