It’s human nature to want things now. Also, most people are unwilling to put in the hard work over a long period. Instead of pursuing happiness, the goal is instant gratification. Any reasonable person will tell you that it’s far better to reach success faster rather than slower.
Fast is a Relative Term
I’m reminded of the entrepreneur that spent 20 years working on her business without receiving any publicity. She had many challenges along the way, and even came close to shutting the doors several times because sales were low. However, she kept working the business plan, and eventually secured several big contracts. Now that cash flow was better, she had the funds to hire talented people to help her. Because of her commitment to excellence, the customers were happy with the results, and kept giving her company more work. This business became well-known in the industry, and soon new work was arriving each day.
After 20 years, this entrepreneur was featured on a business magazine. The people who do not know her story thought that she was able to quickly make it big. The reality, however, is that she worked nonstop for more than two decades to create a successful company. For some people, 20 years is far too long to wait for success. Successful people will tell you that wealth-building takes many years, and perhaps even a lifetime. For this reason, it’s imperative that one is only doing work that is meaningful. If so, the effort and commitment is enjoyable and rewarding.
Focus on Today’s Work
Think about a book that has 365 pages. For many, it’s impossible to find the time to read a book this big. What if you decided to write a book about a subject you like, and it must contain 365 pages? For this project, I will allocate a year to get it done. If I committed each day to writing just one page for this book, I could have it done within the allotted time-frame. You see the mountain appears too high and steep to climb until we decide to take small steps each day.
The other benefit of sticking with a plan each day is that our performance improves. The more you dedicate to writing, the easier it will get. The words and sentence structure will come naturally over time. At first, writing a page required several hours of effort, but now you can get have it done in 60 minutes.
For work to be meaningful, one must consider the big picture. You should know exactly why you are engaged in the current work. Perhaps you are trying to gain more experience so that you can climb the corporate ladder. You might be working on a project that can create future opportunities for your organization. By having a clear vision, the chances of success will skyrocket.
There will be many days when you believe that little to no progress is made. However, even when you experience challenging days, know that you kicked the ball down the street. The ball didn’t travel too far, but you are heading in the right direction.