How High Is Your Mountain?

Today, I would like to start out with a quote from a new found friend, Jeff Holmers. Jeff is the person responsible for me rediscovering my faith in people and in working as one team toward one common goal. That's another story for another day. Suffice it to say that I would not be a part of the Presidential Group in TVI if it weren't for Jeff. So back to my story. I saw this quote while scrolling through the past few days of team conversation in Skype.

To most, it may sound a bit corny, and well I guess it is. But so many of the sayings that influence our lives, "God Bless America," "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," "It's better to give than to receive," "The customer is always right," sound corny but ring true! My personal favorite is, "Everything I need to know in life, I learned in Kindergarten." If you think about it, that's a very profound statement. Simple yes, but profound. But then most true wisdom is simple, yet profound. Just spend some time in the book of Proverbs and you'll see what I mean. So, back to my story. Sorry if I get a bit verbose, it's a bad habit of mine. I get it honest, I'm the son of an English Teacher.

Here's the quote.

"MOUNTAINS ARE CLIMBED ONE STEP AT A TIME. Everyone who got where they are had to begin where they were. Your opportunity for success is right in front of you. To attain success or to reach your goal, don't worry about having all the answers in advance. You just need to have a clear idea of your goal and move toward it. So what are you waiting for? Go for it!"

The wisdom in this quote is indeed profound. There are at least two very sound principles at work, here. I'm sure some of you will see more, but these two jumped off the page at me.

First, everyone, no matter who they are, no matter how smart, how gifted, how wealthy, how successful, had to start at the beginning. There is NO other starting point. They had to learn, study, practice, and most importantly, fail. Did I say fail? Yes, I did. Thomas Edison said it this way when a lab assistant exclaimed in total exasperation after their attempt at creating the light bulb failed for the umpteenth time. Yes, I did say "umpteenth." That's a real number, you know. Anyway, Edison responded with "no, we haven't failed at all, we have just found one more way that won't work!" What he meant of course was that they were that much closer to finding the one that would.

The second point that struck a chord with me is this. You don't have to have it all worked out beforehand. You don't have to have all the answers. But you DO have to have vision. There's an interesting quote in The Bible, not sure of the exact chapter and verse, but it goes like this. "without a vision, the people perish." Without a vision, a goal, a strong, all consuming "Why," you will not succeed. You will just go around stumbling in the dark, become lost, discouraged, and eventually you will give up. It's inevitable. This is true in business, in relationships, in your walk with God, in life.

So if you have not taken the time to do it yet, stop everything, get alone with yourself and do some intense, soul-searching. Find your vision. Find your "WHY." Write it down, tape it to your refrigerator door or your bedroom mirror (that's where mine is taped up) and every morning when you get up and every night when you lie down, read and say it aloud. Second, stop procrastinating, and as Jeff so succinctly put it, stop waiting and Go For It! It doesn't matter how high the mountain, or how lofty the goal. With these two principles in action, you WILL achieve it. Will you stumble along the way? Sure, but that doesn't matter. Keep going and you WILL realize your dream. It's inevitable.