Plant A Seed — A Memo by ILU

The problem with the world we live in today is that we've been conditioned to think that just because we can stream that new TV Series in a second, or FaceTime someone on the other side of the world in a couple clicks, this same immediacy can be applied to success in life.

What you will NOT find are overnight legends or effortless greatness, regardless of the field of endeavour. Gold medals are never won by the competitor who did the least or read a book on how to run a marathon without breaking a sweat, much less only worked a couple hours a week. When we really take a hard look at the people we want to emulate, we will inevitably find that they all started at the bottom. Sure, some may have had some natural talent, but there's a lot of commonalities in all those we admire. They identified their goal, practiced for countless hours, stayed disciplined, followed the advice of a great coach or mentor, overcame numerous obstacles, persevered, squashed a bunch of internal demons, had some lucky breaks, learnt from their mistakes, practiced some more, and eventually they got to the front of the line.

So here's the important p ar t: Their success was not obvious at the beginning of the journey — to themselves or anyone else who happened to be watching. If you go out today and plant a seed in the ground, you can't go back tomorrow and expect to see a tree. Buckle down. Keep your mind sharp. Keep your eye on the prize, and eventually, that overnight success will become a reality.

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

I Love Ugly.