Adebola Alabi
Everything worthwhile is uphill, tips to achieve success. He or she got there by a stroke of luck. That’s what most of us often think when we talk about people that have achieved some great feat around us. We’ve concluded within us that success is somehow attributable to a game of chance. What is unknown to us is the efforts that helped them to achieve the results. Michael Jordan once said “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”What is obvious to everyone is the result — Winning shots.
Maybe you are already encountering some difficult moment as you move along to achieve your goals, I want you to know that “Everything worthwhile is uphill.” This phrase simply means that most things we truly desire in life will come with some level of challenges and therefore we are required to put lots of efforts and time before we can see results.
You may be thinking, “Nah, that can’t be right, some people had it easy in their lives.” That may be true if you only focus on the end result — their current status or an outward appearance. What you may not know is how they got to their current position. You have no knowledge of their struggle, trials, temptations, fear, efforts, and courage.
Let me restate it: there are no such things as accidental achievements. To achieve anything meaningful, to run a successful business, to become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or to win an Olympics competition, it is always uphill, and it requires significant efforts. Check anyone that has achieved any great feat, they will tell you that the process is challenging, grueling, and most times very exhausting.
However, there are certain qualities that you need to possess for you to be able to withstand the strenuous process, climb the hill and find yourself at the mountaintop.
You must learn to persevere, be consistent, and remain teachable.
You need perseverance because of the process of achieving meaningful feat is arduous, and during the journey, things may sometimes not work as you have planned. Everything and everyone around you may tell you that the effort is just not worth it, the natural thing will be to give up, but if you know how to persevere, you will stay committed for the long haul and achieve your desires.
Consistency is about steadfastness in your goal. It helps you stay firm and unwavering as you embark on the journey towards your desired goal. If you are consistent, you are ready to get up in the morning, take another step, commit more time towards the journey and you will be able to gain more knowledge and grow to expand your horizon.
Being teachable is about the application of new knowledge and new discoveries as you make progress towards your goals. You cannot be rigid and at the same time wanting to grow. You cannot cling to the status quo and claim you want some new discoveries. You cannot be comfortable with your comfort zone and still want advancement in life. If you are a teachable person, you will be able to develop new strategies that will help you confront and overcome challenges that you may encounter on the journey.
Too many people are afraid to take a step because the tasks ahead are tough. But how will they enjoy new discoveries if they fail to take the first step? Don’t let that be you. What is the steep climb before you? You want to start a new business? Go ahead, create a business profile, develop your business plan, perform a feasibility study. It does not matter that you don’t know how the business will turn out to be, taking the first step will embolden you and give you the confidence to match forward as the road unfold new discoveries, new opportunities, and new knowledge that will help you get to the top. It’s your time to break barriers and climb to the top, for most things worthwhile are uphill.
“A journey of a thousand mile begins with a step.” — Chinese Proverb
