by Sam Knight
Most of us have a dream. Certainly, anyone who is joining
forces with the Internet is having dreams. BIG ones!
Do you ever wonder about people who have turned their lives
into major success stories? When you get away from all the
glitz and the glamour, you begin to realize that at one point
in their lives they were somebody's baby, which means they
started out just like you and me.
Oprah Winfrey, for example. Don't you think in her young
life she played with dolls and had sweet, imaginary tea
parties, or played dress up?
Bill Gates. What kind of kid was he? Bet he thought riding
that first bicycle up and down the neighborhood streets was
a thrill, just like the rest of us.
Tiger Woods. We know we wasn't BORN with a golf club
in his hands. Don't you think he was just like every other
little kid having fun with building blocks?
How many of our 'celebrities' stories have we read or listened
to and were intrigued by how open they were about some of
the difficulties they had to overcome?
Oprah's early life was a mess! Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks
weren't born with any silver spoons in their mouths. Richard
Pryor was raised in a brothel. Suzanne Somers has been
very forthcoming about how troublesome life in her family was
when she was young. Mary Kay didn't start out giving away
pink cadillacs!
The woods are full of tales with heartbreaking beginnings but
powerfully uplifting endings.
Most successful people are creative. Tony Bennett is not only
a great singer, he's a very talented artist. Jack Lemmon was
not only a great actor, he was a gifted pianist. Who knew
Catherine Zeta-Douglas could dance and sing like that! Steve
Martin, to me one of the funniest men alive, is also a playwrite!
Peter Jennings is a very popular news broadcaster; he also
wrote a book that captured the hearts of millions!
But being creative is not just about being able to paint or sing
or act or write. There is a wonderful deep-seated attitude and
psychology about successful people. They don't Think like
everyone else and they don't accept the notion that there is
anything wrong with that.
Some call that marching to the beat of a different drummer.
Whatever you call it, it is what makes successful people stick
to their guns and not lose focus of their 'prize'.
I believe that with the coming of success there is probably an
element of luck involved, to which I say "Good for them!" Most of
us will take our fortune in whatever form it presents itself.
But even with the fortunate stroke of luck or chance, most
successful people have worked like dogs to get to where
they wanted to go. We forget that when we are being dazzled
by the diamonds, $3,000 suits, stretch limos and homes to
drool over.
We should never overlook the very real fact that successful
people are also very, very determined.
We lose sight of the fact that it wasn't always champagne and
caviar for them. For most, it was a struggle, but they didn't sit
around and 'poor mouth'. They didn't wait for someone to come
along and hand them something. In fact, they didn't really WANT
anyone handing them something because too often there was
compromise involved that would have taken them off their course.
They didn't leave too many stones unturned and did what they
had to do. When they even THOUGHT opportunity was knocking,
they opened the door. I would imagine that sometimes they
probably had no clue who or what was knocking but that didn't
stop them. Maybe that was part of their 'luck'.
Isn't it funny how many of our overnight "stars" took almost ten to
fifteen years getting there? Take a look at some of the old "Twilight
Zone" episodes. Dozens of our major celebrities of today appeared
on that show. They were relative unknowns just trying to hone their
craft. Then they continued to keep it up for years until it finally paid
off! Many times when they'd been much older.
How many of us would give that kind of time and devotion to something
so badly wanted? That is what I call real desire. The sweat equity
has been paid and by the time the successful people have reached
their pinnacle, they deserve every dime and however many minutes
of fame they have coming to them.
With the instruments we have available today, things like the Internet
and all of our other wonderful inventions, we don't need to wait for
years and years. But we do still have to pay our dues and build our
sweat equity.
Just think about what you want to be when you grow up. If you believe
it, if you stay focused and motivated, if you really want it and if you are
willing to do what you have to do, it'll happen. It starts from the inside out.
*****************
Sam Knight,
is Ed/Publisher of an online newsletter
and operates an Ad Copy Writing/Mail Distribution service.
Her latest works are "I Wish I Wrote That!", a how-to guide
for creating sales-generating ads, and
"Marriage-Eaters...Is Your Relationship At Risk?" http://www.boomer4ever.com
or send an email:
boomer4ever1@juno.com
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