“With great power comes great responsibility.”
That’s what the great comic writer Stan Lee once wrote a long time ago, and it still applies today.
“To whom much is given, much is required.”
And that’s what the great scriptural writers wrote an even longer time ago, and that still applies today too.
It has often been said that the most obvious path to take from Point A to Point B is a straight line. This is true. However, though this path is the most obvious because it’s the shortest, it’s not always the best.
Yes, time, history, and experience teaches us through many examples that the quick way is not always synonymous with the safe way. From the multitude of stories that we hear in the celebrity-laden world of business, the world of sports, and the world of entertainment we can clearly see the devastating effects that fast success has had upon many. Why is this? Is it because quick and easy achievement is bad, wrong, or evil? No. The reason why fast and furious success is often an event that can herald fast and furious failure later on is because of the oftentimes, noticeable absence of the key ingredient needed to maintain success:
Preparation.
Yes, it’s usually lack of preparation for the success achieved that sends “newly” mighty men crashing to the ground, falling from great heights once the pressure to maintain or to repeat that success comes down on them. Likewise, it’s usually the life lessons learned and continuously applied that prevents the sudden loss of equally sudden success.
Why is this?
It’s because every height, every level of achievement, and every elevated position that a man reaches in his life requires with it the ability to stand firmly in that place of authority like a man worthy of it. In other words, there ’ll always come a time when a man can’t get away with just being called the man——-he has to be the man.
Now, does this mean that quick success should be shunned out of suspicion, or avoided out of fear? No. What this means is that preparation plus opportunity is the formula for staying power once a big success has been achieved. What this means is that you should be on a mission to be worthy of the opportunities that come your way. That way, it’ll be hard as hell for someone to come along and take the achievements, promotions, or victories you’ve won away from you.
How do you guard against this? You should follow the age-old scriptural admonition that says that you should “Study to show your self approved”. Notice, that quote did NOT say just to “Study to get yourself approved”. No, for anyone with even average intelligence, it should be clear that it should go without saying that a man should study anything he wants to become better at, so the point I want to emphasize here is that there is also great value in a man choosing to study when he’s already been approved.
Why do I say this?
It’s because nothing wipes out an army of haters, criticizers, jealous persecutors, and all other enemies to your success faster than DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENCE.
This is the reason why you should still study, even after you’ve reached a new level of success——-to show anyone who would seek to challenge your success through your demonstrated excellence that you are indeed worthy of the success you’re experiencing.
There is NO successful argument that can be made against EXCELLENCE.
One thing to keep in mind is that the truth is that there’s usually far fewer real examples of overnight success than most of us realize. Outside of some example such as winning the lottery, getting a huge inheritance from your billionaire aunt, or being born into a family of financial, political, or societal clout——-most success is earned. Very few people see the struggles that you’re going through to achieve your success before it manifests. People will jump at the chance to celebrate you once you’ve elevated, but few will even acknowledge you until you’ve elevated. So what do you do until then? Well, the first thing you should do is stop daydreaming about the long shot of achieving overnight success. Then, make a decision to adopt the mindset that rather than counting on achieving “overnight” success——–count on achieving “everyday” success instead.
Why? Because what many call overnight success is really just the sudden discovery of how successful that person has been in his or her every day life up to that exact moment.
But what is Everyday Success?
- Everyday Success is when you sacrifice going out with your friends every night to go do something to bring you another step closer to achieving your long term goals.
- Everyday Success is when you take on an extra assignment on your job to increase your knowledge base in a way that will better your chances at getting a promotion tomorrow.
- Everyday Success is when you go to the gym to workout instead of going to the nearest fast food joint to pig out.
- Everyday Success is when you pick the attractive girl who consistently acts like she likes you rather than continue to chase after the attractive girl who doesn’t.
- Everyday Success is when you wake up in the morning and decide you’re gonna live your best life NOW rather than letting a defeatist attitude rob you of any enjoyment you might experience that day.
- Everyday Success is loving who you are right now as opposed to just loving the “idea” of who you think you’ll be in the future.
- Everyday Success is when you do something to help someone else achieve their goals today in hopes that someone will choose to do the same thing for you tomorrow.
As you can see, Everyday Success comes in many forms. But what all these examples have in common is that they are all actions taken as a result of a decision and a willingness to never trade long term, internal fortification for instant gratification. Indeed, every example listed is just another brick in the same structure. And the structure in question is an edifice that we call CHARACTER.
Character, in this case, is defined as the sum of everything that makes you who you are—–both in your eyes and the eyes of others. Character is the combination, the merging together of who you are, what you do, why you do it, and how you do it into ONE distinctive personality. Your character is not just a front, it’s the substance of what you bring to the table as a man——a man to be respected, a man to be admired, and if necessary…a man to be reckoned with.
Know too that your character, and other people’s impression of it, will be what they use to build their interpretation of what your overall reputation is. Therefore, as much as it’s within your power to influence, never give anyone a good reason to build you a bad one.
So prepare yourself so that as more successes enter into your life, whether they are achieved by you or given to you, your ability to demonstrate excellence on demand will supply you with all the explosive power you need to accomplish 3 missions:
- Silence your critics.
- Maintain your success.
- And achieve even GREATER success!
So now that you know how to stop fast and furious success from turning into fast and furious failure, all you have to focus on afterwards is to just keep aiming HIGH.
~Victory Unlimited