Are you going places?

"I want to become a top manager", "I wanna be a millionaire", "I want to change the world" are some of the aspirations or dreams I hear every now and then from people I meet (so do you, I'm sure). I don't know many people who say they want to be a boring person and have a mediocre life. Pretty much all of us want to be going places. What I don't see is most of these people doing anything about it.

When I've asked "so how do you think you're gonna make those millions?" (or whatever they dream of), I mostly hear "I don't know (yet)". Okay fine, maybe you don't yet. But sitting still and not making an effort, a plan or showing drive to achieve it is not gonna help. To be honest I get quite mad at this kind of people. People who talk and only sit on their ass. Is it just to look more important? Maybe. Probably making an effort is just so much harder than dreaming.

The harder you work, the luckier you get. Yes, everything starts with a dream, but then comes the effort.

How are you gonna advance in your career? Do you read more than the next guy or watch TV instead? Do you work harder than the next guy or you count hours until another working day is over? Are you thinking of big ideas that will change the world or do you go clubbing every night?

If you're not doing anything to achieve your dream, then what exactly are you going to do about it?

Read 10 books about a topic and you know more about it than 90% of the people on the planet. Be proactive and focused in getting things done and you will advance. Come up with new business ideas and you might make your money (turning those ideas into reality is much harder of course).

Just don't tell me you want this or that out of life and then just cruise from day to day hoping for a miracle.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.butzi.net/articles/luck.htm

An essay that provides a number of nice art-specific examples on "being lucky" vs "achieving by working hard".

The point has been made many times by different thinkers - also in your blog, Peep - but that's one of the points we gotta keep reminding ourselves constantly not to lose focus.

The conclusion is nice:
And while we can't control 'luck', we can control opportunity. When we set out to make art, we're providing an opportunity to get lucky. By being on the beach when it's foggy, we've created an opportunity to be on the beach when the fog is 'just like that'.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sherif Abaza said...

Seems like someone who dreamt of being a porn-king has left you a list of his favourites!

By the way, I love "dreaminder". It's such an amazing concept.

Also by the way..WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?

Unknown said...

In Estonia (AIESEC Annual Conference). Back on the 30th!

Anonymous said...

Excellent blog here, got here through search.

A great insight into life in UAE. Thanks!