Looking up to someone, admiring someone, yearning to be that someone, working towards being that someone is a wonderful thought don't you think so? Every now and then, we find ourselves procrastinating about how nice it would be to be a high flying CEO, CFO, COO, partner of a law or accounting firm, big time entrepreneur. It can be rejuvenating and at the same time motivating knowing that some day, some time in the future, all your back breaking effort and hard work will finally pay off.
On the flip side, we can find ourselves stopping at the procrastination part and not moving forward. That is to say, mere thought with no or little follow through actions.
I find it very common among my peers to talk about some of the following topics:
1. That someone really got up that position fast.
2. That someone is the youngest person to be made partner.
3. That someone drives a Porsche to work.
4. That someone has a yacht.
5. Somebody, somewhere has something (you know what I mean from hereon).
You would likely find it common that the people who say those things above are the same people who find themselves in the everyday rut wondering why they never seem to progress or the whole world seems to be plotting against them. Yet, it is either that they choose not to admit it or they are simply naturally ignorant to the fact that they are not doing what is needed to be that someone.
One does not become the next Yo Yo Ma by merely playing simply cadences or practising a mere half hour a day. One does not become the next Roger Federer by hitting tennis balls aimlessly without proper technique (putting aside talent). One does not become a Sebastian Vettel hopping into a race car and flooring the accelerator. Some of these people are the product of dedication, self belief and most importantly, repeatedly doing what needs to be done to differentiate themselves from the world at large.
The best example I can give you is Rafael Nadal. Some of you may not necessarily agree with my views and please do beg to differ if you do feel the need to. I started following Rafa's progress in the world of tennis when we beginning to move the rank. In the initial years, he would always get whooped by Federer in many Grand Slam finals and eventually he would overcome Federer. The one thing that set him apart from many including the great Federer is the fact that in every match Rafa always ran down every ball, every shot giving all he could to retrieve every ball that came into his side of the court. Another one thing was that he never changed his coach, Uncle Toni despite certain moments in his career when everyone, including me thought he was on the downhill. Not changing his coach meant his uncle has spent so much time with him to know his match temperament, techniques and shortfalls. Basically Uncle Toni knows the good, the bad and the ugly of this game due to sheer time they have spent together and the bond they have formed.
Rafa's rise to fame and the many wins he has secured is the product of him looking upwards at someone he wanted to emulate but at the same time looking in front of him, clearing one hurdle at the time. For someone like him who looked up and looked forward at the same time, what he got was a linear growth.
For the ordinary people like the most of us who always procrastinate more than getting down to the action, we are stuck in the looking upwards mode. Only problem is, if you keep looking upwards, you'll only get a neck ache......
