Success is not an on-demand commodity
One of today's clients had built his own house in the 70s. I asked if he was in the construction business. No, far from it, he told me.
He explained that he had worked late nights and weekends for a year to finish it. A contractor had put up the walls and the roof, but he had done the rest himself. He wanted a house, and there was no money to pay someone else to do it.
My parents didn't build the house themselves, but they had to live very frugally for a long time to pay for it. They had four envelopes of money for each month, one for each week. If there was any money left at the end of the week, they would put it in the last envelope. If there was money left over at the end of the month, they were delighted to share half a bottle of wine with their homemade and simple dinner.
Sacrifice and determination.
It feels like we've lost a lot of that in today's society. We're so used to everything happening NOW that we've started to look at sacrifice as something wrong.
We want to be influencers overnight. We have to have a state-of-the-art kitchen, but we also believe it's a human right to eat out every day. Our coffee machine costs a month's salary, but we don't go from A to B without a coffee to go in our hand, carrying it like an accessory.
Is it because of today's technology and the habit of having access to almost everything on demand? Is it because we’re connected 24/7? Perhaps it is, at least to some extent. Should we blame technology? No, of course not.
Technology will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, giving us even more possibilities that were previously impossible. We can think whatever we want about that (personally, I find it very exciting). But we have to learn to distinguish one from the other.
Many things still require sacrifice and determination. They take time and commitment. They require the tireless spirit of a winner.
True success and satisfaction will never be an on-demand commodity.