When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.
from: Isak Dinesen, pen name for Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke, author of Out of Africa et al.
There is always a "great reason" to put off moving on difficult goals. Difficult because of a low skill level. Difficult due to a lack of skills. Difficult as a result of surrounding yourself with naysayers. Difficult from you being a naysayer. Difficult because life can just be hard.
I also know that success breeds success. Even if it is just one area of your life, you can move forward with persistence. A small achievement can position you in a mind set that difficult tasks are attainable.
A long time ago, I studied and studied and studied for my law school entrance exam. Five years previously I took the exam and achieved a less-than-stellar score. I set up a plan to retake the exam once the low score would have dropped off my reports to law school. I worked on this plan while having other simultaneous career paths moving forward.
Yes, I had doubts I could do it. I would have been five years older taking an exam based on intellectual speed. To keep my mind nimble, I enrolled in night classes in a masters program (which also would have been great for another career option I was considering).
I worked consistently on prepping for the exam. I got all the available study books and did everything they suggested. Because it was a five year plan, I worked like the turtle and not the rabbit. Slow and steady persistence.
I remember getting the call while in the lab. "A letter has arrived. I think it is your LSAT score. Do you want me to open it?" After a breathe and some wild thinking, I said yes. "Blah, blah... you scored in the 92% percentile. Is that good?"
"I AM GOING TO LAW SCHOOL!" I yelled. The emotional release had n restriction, no editing of emotion, and no caring of who heard. I looked around the lab and saw, fortunately, that I was alone.
This success made my head whirl and I literally saw my lists of plans rearrange themselves in my mind like some bad special effects in a cheezy movie. Complete with tracer lines showing changes, some of the goals dropped off, while some popped into place, and others shifted. The remote potential of going to law school had become a primary goal.
Then, about a month later, my partner's income stream dried up in the ongoing recession. It was like a hand grenade was thrown into my plans. Besides the law school tuition, we were looking at a topping of mortgage payments and students loans that needed to be covered.
However, we talked. I said, "I have gotten this far, we will keep working." And we persisted. It was not always fun. It was not easy. We started a business that achieved international sales and our products were featured in multiple Martha Stewart publications. It was the success with the exam and not forgetting how I worked on that led me to enter and finish law school.
Gratitudes: Band-aids, over-the-counter antibiotic cream, and chocolate.
from: Isak Dinesen, pen name for Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke, author of Out of Africa et al.
There is always a "great reason" to put off moving on difficult goals. Difficult because of a low skill level. Difficult due to a lack of skills. Difficult as a result of surrounding yourself with naysayers. Difficult from you being a naysayer. Difficult because life can just be hard.
I also know that success breeds success. Even if it is just one area of your life, you can move forward with persistence. A small achievement can position you in a mind set that difficult tasks are attainable.
A long time ago, I studied and studied and studied for my law school entrance exam. Five years previously I took the exam and achieved a less-than-stellar score. I set up a plan to retake the exam once the low score would have dropped off my reports to law school. I worked on this plan while having other simultaneous career paths moving forward.
Yes, I had doubts I could do it. I would have been five years older taking an exam based on intellectual speed. To keep my mind nimble, I enrolled in night classes in a masters program (which also would have been great for another career option I was considering).
I worked consistently on prepping for the exam. I got all the available study books and did everything they suggested. Because it was a five year plan, I worked like the turtle and not the rabbit. Slow and steady persistence.
I remember getting the call while in the lab. "A letter has arrived. I think it is your LSAT score. Do you want me to open it?" After a breathe and some wild thinking, I said yes. "Blah, blah... you scored in the 92% percentile. Is that good?"
"I AM GOING TO LAW SCHOOL!" I yelled. The emotional release had n restriction, no editing of emotion, and no caring of who heard. I looked around the lab and saw, fortunately, that I was alone.
This success made my head whirl and I literally saw my lists of plans rearrange themselves in my mind like some bad special effects in a cheezy movie. Complete with tracer lines showing changes, some of the goals dropped off, while some popped into place, and others shifted. The remote potential of going to law school had become a primary goal.
Then, about a month later, my partner's income stream dried up in the ongoing recession. It was like a hand grenade was thrown into my plans. Besides the law school tuition, we were looking at a topping of mortgage payments and students loans that needed to be covered.
However, we talked. I said, "I have gotten this far, we will keep working." And we persisted. It was not always fun. It was not easy. We started a business that achieved international sales and our products were featured in multiple Martha Stewart publications. It was the success with the exam and not forgetting how I worked on that led me to enter and finish law school.
Gratitudes: Band-aids, over-the-counter antibiotic cream, and chocolate.
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