I do not now have, nor have I ever had in the past to the best of my knowledge and recollection, a negative view of the world in general. I am not typically one of those "gloom and doom" type of people. I like to see things not so much through rose colored glasses, ignoring and refusing to see any ugliness at all, but rather focusing on what is good, decent, virtuous, lovely, of good report, praiseworthy... etc. Not particularly easy to do all the time, but I do try.
So what's my point? While it already took some effort to view our world as bright and shiny amid the other news of the day, this sad ending to a comedic genius' life just makes the world (for me anyway) a little more dreary and bleak which only means that I will no doubt have to put a little more effort into my world view - at least for a while.
So while I was looking for some sense of understanding, looking for something to help me through my own personal grief, looking for anything to ease my own personal pain, I came across the following. And while it doesn't address directly, or even indirectly, the death of Mr. Williams, it struck a nerve with me and I thought it was worth sharing.
I did not write what follows:
There are two types of people in this world when it comes to attitude and thought process. Now the first set of people, these are the ones who wait for opportunities to come to them, so that they can, "Take them." And they wait endlessly for some mirage or oasis to magically appear. Yet it never comes to fruition, and they end up in some job that they had no intention of being in. Doing some miniscule task that they have no desire doing. All because they weren't willing to risk it.
And the second set of people – these are the ones who find a way to create opportunities for themselves. These are the ones who make their own luck, so to speak. These people are your Fortune 500 CEO types. These are the ones who live life on their terms. These are the ones that live the life that they wanted to, that they intended, that they envisioned. And the difference between the two sets of people comes down to this concept of fear.
You know, the only fear that you should have in this life is fear itself. Those who aren't afraid to go after what they want in life, are the ones who turn out to be successful. Every successful person has conditioned their mind to think they are going to succeed in anything that they do.
And success is often a result of not being afraid to accomplish anything that you want to, because anything is possible. A lot of people just disregard it, and they say to themselves that successful people exist because they were lucky, or they were a product of good circumstance.
But you are your own driving engine, and you are your own brake. Meaning you are the only one who can determine you own fate. You know, we can look a laundry load of billionaires who started with absolutely nothing, and ultimately got to where they wanted to be. Sam Walton, Ralph Lauren, Harold Hamm, David Murdock, Howard Schultz, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Ellison, John Paul DeJoria. All these people started with nothing, and built their empires through a gradual process by putting in the hours and time every single day to get there.
John Paul started Paul Mitchell hair products with $700 in his pocket. All he had was $700, but this ridiculous, obsessive, sickening work ethic to turn his $700 into something more. He was willing to put it all on the line to do venture after venture, in what he believed, to turn it into something powerful, and eventually it led to being a goldmine. And still he hasn't stopped once he got there, because it's just about never being satisfied with your past performances, and not being afraid to just go out there and do the damn thing.
No one got to where they were without brick walls or stumbles along the way. Because no matter how good your idea is, or how much work you're willing to put into it, there are always going to be those dream killers. There's always going to be those people who say that it can't be done. But the only one who can prove them right or wrong is you.
The only one holding you back is yourself. Any brick walls that come your way, you just have to ask yourself, are you willing to get past the wall or are you going to let it stop you. Because these brick walls, they exist for one reason only – to signify how bad you want something.
No business or endeavor was magically produced overnight. It is a result of getting past brick wall after brick wall. It all comes down to how you're willing to see your idea and your endeavor through to the end. You know, you can always point the finger at somebody else or something and say that was the reason why you didn't get to where you wanted to be.
People make excuses about the economy, and say that's why they’re not successful. Yet, in the 1980's inflation and unemployment were worse than (they are) today. You can always point the finger at someone else and say that's the reason. But in reality it's all up to you.
You have a choice every single day with what you're going to do with your life. Who you're going to spend it with, or where you going to spend your money. But if you just go out and do what you're passionate about, and what you believe in, you're going to be amazed at how far it's going to take you.
You just need to believe enough in what you are doing. You've got to believe that your cause is worth making as many sacrifices as it may possibly take to get there.
The successful people in this world, those future business leaders of tomorrow. Those future professional athletes, musicians, and actors, and community leaders – the future president of the United States – they are not afraid to create their own opportunities. They know where they are going in this world. They know where they are going to end up.
Do you?
~ Jaret Grossman ~
The video from which this comes is below - and well worth watching.
