All great achievements require time. That is a quote by the poet Maya Angelou. Believe it or not, my first exposure to Maya's work was in the subways of New York. The subway used to put little ads up that quoted her work. The ads weren't promoting anything...it was just her poetry. I would sit as the train moved from station to station and read her work. I always though "What soft, kind words for a hard world." Her words were peaceful and thought provoking.
The quote above is also thought provoking. Time is the hidden factor is most things. It is hidden because it is so obviously there. Think about the last second jump shot that wins a game. Some people just see the arc of the shot, the swish of the net, and the joy as the shooter is carried off the floor in victory. But there is so much more to that story. The hours of practice it took for that person to be out on the floor at that moment in the first place. The hundreds, no thousands of previous shots it took for that person to be good enough at his craft to be out on the floor in a championship game. To not only be out on the floor but tio be the person relied upon to take that final shot. We've all seen movies like The Bad News Bears where Timmy Lupus ends up being the hero because he closes his eyes and somehow catches the ball that otherwise would have fallen as a grand slam home run that would have won the game for the other side. And we all know that that scene is complete bullshit. In reality the Timmy Lupus' of the world are booger-eating morons (that is a line from the movie by the way, so don't take it as me judging the character harshly), and there is no way that ANY self-respecting coach would have him out in the field during the final inning of a close game. I have coached in leagues where are children have to play at least a quarter in each game (basketball). The good coaches make sure to use all of their less talented players prior to the fourth quarter. Particularly in a close game. That way they can have all of their best players available for the final quarter of the game and be in a better position to win. Time, I find, is the difference between success and failure about 90% of the time. The person who practices more, or has more experience doing something, is more often the person who will be successful. You might ask, "Well what about the person who discovers something totally new?" Even then, I would say the person with more experience wins out. Think about Thomas Edison and the light bulb. Thomas Edison did not discover the light bulb! He discovered the proper materials which needed to be used to make the bulb last longer. The idea of a "light bulb" had been around at least since the lantern. Edison was attempting to find a filament that would allow electricity to be used to serve as the energy for the light instead of fire. He succeeded, eventually. But he had many failed experiments before he found success. I think you see where I am headed with this. If you love something, give it time. If you love karate, practice. If you love to write, then write something daily. But most importantly, if you love your wife or children, then spend time with them. The greatest achievement any of us can have is to be surrounded by the ones we love. Yet so many of us go through life lonely, or looking to distract ourselves by doing things that take us away from the ones we love. Television, drinking, drugs, watching sports on TV, gambling... none of these things lead to our own achievement. Yet many people spend most of their spare time pursuing those endeavors. It's sad really, how wasting our time can lead to a life with no achievement. To be great, you need to use your time wisely. And I use the word "great" loosely here. What is important to you? It can be a who or a what. Whatever it is, you need to spend time to achieve the "greatness" you seek. My goal is to be as great a father as I can for my daughters. To do that, it takes time. Time to play with them, to teach them, to talk to them and to just allow them to know that I am always there for them. I work from home. I home school them. I train at the dojo with them, and I explore the world with them. Make time for what and who you love. THAT is the greatest achievement that anyone can ever have, in my opinion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
September 2021
Categories
All
|