Author: The Godfather
Hey Guys,
I had a really interesting conversation the other day about talent, hard work, persistence and self belief. I want to share with you what I learned from this conversation and the paradigm that resulted.
Whatever your dream is, whatever you want to be or do, YOU CAN DO AND ACHIEVE ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO. Â It is so important to first have belief in your self and your abilities.
It is also critical to understand that TALENT is not special, and it certainly does not guarantee success. Â There are so many talented people that it would be ignorant to see your self as special or better because of it.
The difference between the talented and the successful is hard work, persistence, determination, opportunity and belief.
The road to success is paved by hard work. Â When you think of talent as special it gives you a false sense of security, thinking that you can rest on your laurels. You must understand that talent is common but hard work, real hard work, dedicating your self to your dream and working at it every day is not common. Â That in its self will make the most difference. Â Really committing your self to your dream and putting in that hard work to get there. Â Hard work crushes talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Persistence and determination are crucial; everyone faces adversity however it is not how many times you fall down but how many times you get back up that really counts. Â If you are truly committed to your dream then nothing will stop you, if you face a road block you will find another way around to get to your ultimate destination. Â This is so important, many times people give up as soon as it gets tough, but those that fight through adversity and keep fighting until they realize their dreams will achieve success.
Opportunity – What do I mean by this? Many people classify it as luck, but I believe that it is opportunity. Â Opportunity comes to everyone but you must be prepared for it and act on it otherwise it will pass you by. Â Opportunity waits for no man, but it is very kind to those who grab it with both hands and make use of it. Â An excuse many people have is that they were unlucky or the successful people caught a lucky break which is the only reason why the successful got there and they did not. Â Again it would be ignorant to believe this, Gary Player one of the greatest golfers famously said “the harder I work the luckier I get.” Â This is because the harder you work the better prepared you become when opportunity knocks. Understand that opportunity is everywhere around us however, it is the prepared who grab it.
Belief, you have heard myself and bigP talking about belief a lot in our articles.  Having confidence in your self and your abilities is so important because success starts from within.  Before you can be successful externally, you must have belief and confidence in yourself.  Have the unwavering belief that you can and will achieve your goals. That is the belief I am talking about, not I think I can do it, but I CAN AND WILL DO IT!
When I thought about the conversation I had, it was a huge realization that talent is never enough. If you are serious and committed about your dreams then you MUST: WORK HARD, BE PERSISTENT, BE PREPARED FOR OPPORTUNITY AND HAVE UNWAVERING BELIEF IN YOUR SELF!
And it is never a sometimes thing, but an all the time thing! You must be dedicating yourself to your dream all the time, every day if you want to be the best at anything.
The Godfather