|
Where Will
You Be? |
| Thomas Edison reportedly said that success is 1%
inspiration and 99% perspiration. When it comes to online success, I would modify his formula to 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration and 99% perspective. I know the math doesn't work, but I believe approaching an online business takes a special mindset. To illustrate, the story is told of a young traveler who fell in with an older man as they walked, and as they talked they found they shared a common destination. Finding mutual agreement, they decided to spend the night at the same inn. Soon after they resumed their journey the next morning, they came to a fork in the road. One road passed through mountainous terrain to their destination, the other a more direct route across a plain. Assuming the choice was obvious, the younger of the two turned toward the plain only to see the older start down the other path. "Why are you taking the long way?" the younger asked. Answered the older, "My friend, all this day you will put one foot in front of the other, as shall I. Before the day is done, I will be somewhere I have never been, surveying scenery I have never seen, and I will have learned something new about my strength. When the day ends, where will you be, what will you be seeing, and what will you have learned about yourself?" The point is, I think, obvious. The challenge of the Internet business world can be overwhelming, especially as one looks at the long period of time most agree will be necessary for most of us to be "successful." But from the perspective of the wise traveler, that period of time will go by just as surely whether one is exploring new heights or simply trudging across familiar plains. It's primarily a matter of where you point your feet, and that depends on your perspective. I like to walk as a means of exercise, and have found that I can walk great distances on level ground with no aftereffects, but just a little mountain hiking will produce significant soreness the next day. I can either say, "Wow, I'm sore!," or Wow, I have climbing muscles!" Those muscles were already there, though perhaps underdeveloped, but they only became evident because they were called upon by the direction I pointed my feet. Frankly, not everyone has "climbing muscles" when it comes to
scaling the online business mountain. The only certainty is that
climbing muscles will never be discovered on the plain. And, to
stretch this analogy near the breaking point, it may take only a
little elevation to prove whether the muscles are there or not.
After all, learning where you are weak is a part of discovering
your strengths. |