How do people achieve great things? I’d really like to know. As an “Achiever” (that’s my #1 strength according to StrengthsFinder) I feel like I might be lagging.
People write songs that you can’t stop humming. They win Olympic gold medals, build businesses, or otherwise just change the world. And I’m constantly amazed and confounded as to just how that’s done. I want in on it, just a little.
Don’t get me wrong – I do believe in balance and giving priority to the most important things in life: God, family, & relationships. But there’s a place for achievements in our lives because achievements don’t have to come at the expense of those important things. We’re all given the same amount of time in a day, and with that time we can either do something great or not. I’m convinced that most people who accomplish great things simply know how to do more with those hours they’re given.
So with our hours, how do we achieve great things? Is it talent? Skills? Hard work? Patience? Passion? Wisdom? Self awareness? Courage? Risk taking? I’m sure it’s all of the above and more.
I’m currently in the insurance space and have been for the last 15 years. As far as stability and providing for my family goes, it’s working out. But as far as being a great achievement? I don’t know if I can check that box yet. Far too often I feel like I’m in the rat race just trying to keep things afloat. I want scale. I want to build a system that can duplicate itself and grow. I want this business to fly.
How do I achieve this? I have perhaps a naive belief that if something is done with excellence, it will catch on with people and grow. In-N-Out. Apple. Starbucks. People get excited about those things. It’s almost as if those businesses can’t help but grow. They’re gazelles, leaping and bounding up the hill, to the right. I’m not trying to turn an insurance agency into In-N-Out, Apple, or Starbucks, but I would like to have enough people that want to do business with us that I have to hire more people to keep up with the demand. I want to be a gazelle in my own space.
It would therefore be a great achievement to be a gazelle. To be a gazelle requires excellence, and to be excellent requires….. there’s the rub. It’s that secret mix of talent, skill, hard work, patience, passion, wisdom, self awareness, courage, risk taking, and everything else I don’t know about yet.
So I’ll be working on that. I’ll let you know when I get there! Any tips for me, just let me know!
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