Some of you noticed that for the past couple of months my columns have been about as weekly as a full moon. It's because I've been grinding it out lately. For the past four months I have been quite focused on laying the foundation for my next dreams to come true.
I'm not complaining. I'm reporting in. If you'll indulge me for a few paragraphs while I tell you what I've been grinding out, I promise you a moral at the end.
During July I ground out letters and calls to the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Throughout August, I ground out two new book proposals.
September had me grinding out more writing -- rewriting my two most popular stories, My $95,000 Adventure and My Sidewalk Baby Delivery. I also spent countless hours training my new associate, Troy Stende, to be the first person licensed to perform my talk, Major in Success.
October quickly rolled around and I found myself tired, but still needing to grind out the rewrites. (For those of you who figured I was on my couch glued to every word of the Bill and Monica scandal, in actuality, I was writing the equivalent of 80 columns).
... (pause)...
Yes, I'm pausing in case anyone wants to applaud. Feel free to give me extra credit too, because I did all this after I took care of business. I'm like everyone else who has a million obligations that have to come first. Much of the work I just mentioned had to be done at the end of a long day, during a weekend, or in between bites of food.
I'm no different than my neighbor. Before I can work on what I really want to work on I've got calls to make, bills to pay, contracts to prepare, friends to help, family to attend to, dishes to do.
But really, I'm not trying to earn a gold star from you. I told you what I've been up to so that you'd know you're not alone when you're grinding it out.
When you're working hard, putting in long hours, sacrificing TV shows, skipping the movies, getting up an hour early, you are not alone. People like Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Steven Jobs, Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Steve Young, Rosie O'Donnell, Conan O'Brian, Andre Aggassi are grinding it out also. That's what got them and keeps them where they are.
That's the moral of this column: Putting your nose to the grindstone is what it takes to make your dreams come true. Is it worth it? Will you miss out on the fun of life? Will you lose your nose?
Personally speaking, the life I've created for myself, for which I am eternally grateful, was created by the grindstone. The grindstone polished up my life. It's also pretty easy to imagine that the celebrities I mentioned above have no regrets about the hard work they've put in, either.
Truth be told, writing this particular column was a grind also because I'm a bit tired. But success requires doing work at times when you're tempted to veg out to Party of Five. That's why it's called a grindstone. But the same grindstone that wears some people down at a mediocre job, polishes other daring individuals into diamonds. Remember that -- all the work you do is turning you into a diamond. And diamonds sparkle the most. Diamonds are desired. And diamonds last forever.
Until next week, be great. |
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The only time success comes before work, is in the dictionary.
Vidal Sassoon
Don't worry about biting off more than you can chew. Your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger than you think.
Suggested Guideline for Life, distributed by Penny Pennington |
