Good things take time, as they should. We shouldn’t expect good things to happen overnight. Actually, getting something too easily or too soon can cheapen the outcome.
– John Wooden
Everything that’s worth having takes time.
An acorn seed takes time to bud and grow into a mighty oak tree.
A baby takes nine months to form and be born.
An infant takes a couple of decades to grow into an adult.
It takes years for us to complete our education.
Albert Einstein once called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world but as we’ve all experienced, it takes years upon years to work its magic.
A raging river carving a canyon may take centuries.
Payment in the form of time is a fact of nature…
Time is the always the price of everything.
That is, the true price of everything is always paid in the form of time.
If you want to learn a language, it takes time.
If you want to train for a marathon, it takes time.
If you want to lose weight, it takes time.
If you want to put on muscle, it takes time.
If you want to break a bad habit, it takes time.
If you want to develop a good habit, it takes time.
If you want to learn any new skill, it takes time.
If you want to master any new skill, it takes a very long time.
If you want to start a business, it takes time.
If you want to start a long-term enduring and profitable business, it takes a very long time.
All these are just facts of life and there’s no way around them.
Success is just the net total effect of how you’ve been spending your time to date.
It’s a byproduct of how you’ve allocated your time since the day you were born.
Unrealistic expectations only serve to dishearten you
We live in a fast food generation.
We expect everything instantly.
From instant communication to instant gratification.
Netflix and YouTube. Instant video on demand.
Spotify and iTunes. Instant music on demand.
We want everything on demand.
But success doesn’t work that way.
Success is measured in years.
There is no such thing as an overnight success. That’s a misnomer by definition.
For instance, I’ve been reading Elon Musk’s biography by Ashlee Vance lately and it’s no accident Musk is the success he is today.
Years ago from the time he was a just child, he already had a remarkable interest in programming, engineering, tinkering and reading books. He did this for years in preparation well before he started his first “real” company (Zip2) with his brother Kimbal.
Same goes with Mark Zuckerberg. We’ve all heard the story. From a young age, while other kids were playing computer games, Mark was creating them.
Many people idolize these guys and usually attribute otherworldly superpowers to them.
But yet in reality even for these great people, success didn’t happen overnight.
It took many years in the making.
So what makes us expect we are exempt from this fundamental law of nature that everything takes time?
Action points/notes to self
- Remember that success is a long-term game. There are no shortcuts.
- I must be willing to show up everyday, over a long period of time.
- It’s like a marathon only those that keep going and sustain it will finish the race and win.
Question time
Are you impatient?
It’s natural. It’s human nature.
It’s how we overcome these unrealistic expectations that matter.
Have you ever heard of an overnight success story?
Would love to hear from you so please leave a message in the comments.
Until next time.
Godspeed,
Tony Lee Jacobs
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