“Success” means different things to different people and can take on many shapes and forms.
Regardless of how you define it and what stick you use to measure it, success is ultimately about results.
More specifically, about achieving desired results.
Let’s be honest, there’s no shortage of people with a desire but desire alone won’t cut it. There’s something else that’s needed to bridge the gap between wanting something and making it become a reality.
Think about it as a formula for getting results…
D + S = R
Desire + ____ = Results
How many of you reading this right now have a dream, passion, goal or “want” that you’ve back burnered for far too long? The desire is there but what’s stopping you from pursuing and achieving it?
As I think about that question, I think about what separates those who make results happen versus those who don’t.
I believe the answer can be found in what’s missing from the equation above.
Sacrifice
Desire + Sacrifice = Results
Sacrifice is the hard part. It’s the sweat, the risk of giving up what is comfortable, the chance of failure and losing something along the way, the early mornings, the late nights, the choice between Tofu and Cheetos, the gym versus the couch, the second job versus watching TV, the hours and hours of training, the investment and the pain.
Sacrifice, in this context, is giving up something today so that we can have something better tomorrow… but it stops many of us in our tracks.
Sacrifice might be easier if we knew the desired results were guaranteed but they’re not. It’s this pursuit of something that could or could not be that takes faith, perseverance and a discipline to keep moving forward.
Is it worth it? Ask anyone who’s finally made it but only you can answer that question for yourself. Only you can know if your desire is strong enough to overcome what stands in the way.
Sacrifice isn’t easy but then again, the pursuit of something worthwhile rarely is. Without sacrifice the formula will always remain incomplete.
The good news is that you CAN do it. Don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t. Don’t let the fear that sacrifice brings stop you. Don’t bow down to the resistance. Focus on making your desire bigger than anything else that stands in the way and be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to achieve the results you are looking for.
D + S = R
Desire + Sacrifice = Results
What about you? Is your desire big enough? Are you willing to give something up today in pursuit of something better for tomorrow?
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Tue, Jul 13, 2010
Perspective, Productivity