I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between the ones who accomplish great / epic things in any domain — sport, career, adventure, arts, development, etc — and the ones who are doing fine, but never seem to stand out…
What actually makes one realize greater, and more impressive things than others ? What makes one live more boldly. Be more successful. Rise above… ?
I like to believe that we are all born equals, that we all have the CAPACITY to accomplish greatness.
We aren’t all born with the same possibilities, no. That is an undeniable fact. But, we are all born with our very own gift / talent. Our uniqueness. And as we grow up, we develop different skill sets, knowledge and tastes. Our vision broadens, our mind expands, our talent can be refined.
Some seem to identify their gift before others. Perhaps some seem to never identify it in this lifetime, stuck in the fog, endlessly pushed & pulled by what their culture glorifies… without ever finding their personal essence.
Sadly, a lot of people will bring down a raw diamond rock to the grave.
What if someone told you that you were here on earth in your exact body and life for a very specific reason, on a very important spiritual mission and that creation was counting on you to fulfill that mission? Well, that’s exactly what Yoga is telling you.
The Tradition suggests that inside all of us is a dormant power waiting to unleash our highest potential so that we can become a vibrant force in the world and participate in the grand spiritual unfoldment of humanity. -Octavio Salvado
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But when you have found what it is that you want to create and accomplish, what makes one go from being ‘pretty good’ to being ‘fucking great !’ ?
I think it all comes down to one thing: The Willingness to Walk the Extra Mile.
It’s even more than that in fact. Because by definition, willingness is ‘the readiness to do so’. But it’s not enough to be READY to walk the extra mile…
You need to be determined to walk that extra mile. DRIVEN. PERSISTENT. CONSISTENT IN YOUR EFFORT.
You need to be unstoppable in your quest.
Firmness of purpose. What a beautiful way to put it.
How bad do you want to succeed ? It is an all-consuming feeling ? Does it keep you up at night, that burning desire and overflow of ideas?
YES ? Well, GOOD. It is that fire you’ll need !
If you want to accomplish something that most people won’t, you need to get up and do what most people won’t do…
It is the sum of all those extra efforts, that will slowly but surely start to distinguish you from the crowd. That’ll make you rise above.
Walking the extra mile might mean:
- Adding a few more ‘reps’, or one more lap, or waiting for one more wave, when you already feel like you gave it all.
- Studying the best publications on all related disciplines, deepening your research, or travelling to the other side of the world to learn from a particular master.
- Investing a little more money in a project, a trip or a training than what feels like a ”safe investment”, because you trust this and got the feeling this will undoubtedly unlock new opportunities.
- Challenging yourself to draw, paint, design, write or create one piece a day for a year.
- Calling 100 people or messaging 200, getting over your fear of rejection and finding ways to get heard and seen!
- Offering your services for free, for a few months or a year, and giving your boss / client more that they’ve asked for. Initiative. Dedication. Making yourself irreplaceable.
- Sometimes (often) it might also means having no freakin’ clue how to do it, but doing it anyway !
If you are scared at times, ask yourself : what is the WORST that could happen ? You lost your time ? You have to go back and get a job in a restaurant ?
REMEMBER THIS : You can’t win big if you don’t go all in.
This guy got it perfectly:
In any case, it will most likely mean staying up late at night and waking up very early to maximise your time.
It will mean staying in on Friday or Saturday nights and skipping a few session of fun things, because you choose to priorities spending time on your project, while others are out there chilling and partying.
But you know what ? That won’t matter, because in fact there is nothing as satisfying as feeling like you are creating your own legend, that you living from your passion.
Time becomes relative when you are busy concretizing your vision.
And I repeat, we ALL have the capacity to accomplish what we envision…
But all the Greats know that you need to lean forward if you want to cross the finish line first…