Being Inspired (Part 2)
Every great writer knows the key to great writing is the profound answer: one who writes. Those expecting some trade secret are deeply disappointed to find the lack of any silver bullet. Artists are simply people who don’t give up.
They keep doing whatever it is they do. It is not that they are particularly profound at it. It is simply the discipline they make to keep doing it. Day in and day out they do it. Eventually the rest of the world sees their tenacity as vindication.
And to do it well some have had to root out things that took control of their life. They have had to fight simply for the normalcy and frame of mind to do what they do. That’s why they are fighters. They have learned to fight off things.
They know how many things come against vision. They know how many things will come against the daily habit of committing to something. The average person will simply not have the will power to stick with something so profoundly.
Do we have the courage to do the mundane things necessary to get something off the ground. 90% of the work is simple, daily, checklist stuff that simply needs to get done. Little steps one by one by one...rolling the ball up the hill.
Leaders know that you push long enough on those details and against that ball pretty soon you are at the top of that hill. The ride down will be much different. There is nothing like that feeling of knowing you are almost to that edge.
Most people quit just about there. Before they can experience the fruits of their labor they stop. Seeds left to their own accord without proper care will not flourish. There is too much against a fresh root making its way healthily into this world.
Do I have what it takes? That is really the question isn’t it? Or that is at least what we think is the question. The question secretly assumes there is some magic formula to successful people. They have some special qualities I don’t have. Wrong!
Success is actually a matter of rather boring insignificance. Do I do the things day in and day out that “prove the sincerity of my love?” Do I actually do the activities? Do I honestly evaluate and take the next steps, however small?
It sounds like will power, or working harder than anyone else. Not really. It is not exclusively a work ethic issue. It is more about what Bill Hybel’s called “Grit.” It is the determination to continue in the face of adversity with face like a flint.
It embraces the conflicts necessary, it doesn’t try to resolve them. No matter what things come up it is not looking for cheap vindication. Adversity is not a “sign” that this is not the right thing to be doing. It proves it is!
It is focus. It is clarity. It is mindfulness. It is listening. To your own life. It is all built right into it. It is there. Inside us. Everything we need. We will need help interpreting, unlocking the mystery inside. That is one of life’s great challenges.