People seldom see the halting and painful steps, by which the most insignificant success is achieved.
Anne Sullivan
Every successful person seems lucky or gifted. Many people stand by watching, wishing they had what they have, but they are unable to see their painful steps, or behold their timid thoughts, or the many restless nights. It’s far too easy to judge something after it happens or admire it from a far, than to take their own dreams seriously. It’s always so easier to study something successful, than to actually go out there and achieve it.
Even the small, insignificant victories require sacrifice. A sacrifice no one is going to see. Mental warfare no one is going to help heal. Any victory, large or small, has a cost, a cost that needs to be paid, a road that needs to taken, and as the poet Robert Frost pointed out, it is usually the road less travelled.
Success feels fantastic, but it is balanced out with halting and painful steps. The pain is neither good nor bad. It is what it is, and it demands payment. No shortcuts. No magic formulas. No easy way out, except the daily struggle of bringing into existence something that has never existed before.
No one will see the steps you take or the sacrifices you are going to make. No one will see you wake up early or deny yourself hours of entertainment. No one will see the learning you’ll do in order to become better at your craft. Your efforts will go unnoticed. You will work when no one expects you too. You’ll be told to slow down and take it easy, when you’re so close to realizing something you are determined to see through. No one will no, but that doesn’t matter, because you will, and that’s ultimately that matters.
You won’t do it for them. You’ll do it for yourself and for whomever you’re thinking of.
It would sure be nice if people could see what is going on in your heart, and if they could lend a helping hand, but you can’t count on that. It’s part of the cost. It’s part of the business of living. We can become crippled by it or accept it as a natural flow of things.
The road might be rough, but it will be meaningful. Your hours may be long, but they will be worth it. Your sweat may be never ending, but nobody will be able to deny or take away the success you’re bound to achieve, if you keep going, if you keep walking, if you keep stumbling along.
People seldom see the halting and painful steps you’ll take to achieve even the most insignificant success, but they can’t help but appreciate the success when they are finally faced with it.
Don’t look too far back and don’t look too far ahead either. Do the things that need to get done. Learn to do them better. Dreams take a lifetime to build. They are not for the timid of heart. They are not for those who stand and watch, they are for those who hunger and will their steps down a path with few human footsteps.
