Deaf, Blind and Dull Enough to Thrive.
We have been told that success comes down to how blind or dull you are when you launch to achieve your goal. To succeed at a thing, you need to be selectively deaf to what will extinguish that flame of pursuit. You will have to be blind to the evidence presented against your cause. You will have to be dull enough to think that all the naysayers have no sense and that you alone have what it takes to make it happen.
Success is often synonymous with paying no attention to or knowing very little about how hard succeeding at that thing is. Depending on how blind you are to the facts, you will (blindly) plough yourself wholeheartedly into the project with the full conviction of a successful outcome. Some of us are too quick to give up when presented with the “facts” showing what can’t be done.
Call it naivety, dullness to apparent facts and limitations has birthed great results. There are things we would never be able to achieve if we knew exactly what it would cost to complete, and the only way to achieve those goals is if our minds deceive us into believing that it will cost less (or nothing).
But all these are half-truths!
Here are the whole truths:
For those who blindly chased their goals to a place of success, it had little to do with their deafness, blindness or dullness but more to do with the fire they had in them. True vision is like a fire that will never be quenched despite the level of opposition.
The fire in them makes them act mad, blind and unresponsive to the facts facing them. You must deceive your mind into acting oblivious to the facts stacked against your pursuit. No real fire, no genuine blindness to the obvious resistance.
The fire doesn’t mean the costs are less, but rather that your mind ignores their value, drunk in its passion.
Many have gotten to the goal, calmed down and then looked back to see that they reached their destination without “a leg” and “an arm”. Seating at the top of their well-earned throne, they are caught between “it was worth it” and “was it worth it”.
Can you create the fire?
This is the big question. Do we acquire these fires that fuel us through the storms of life towards our goals, or do we discover them? My research shows that both sources of fire can propel you “there”. A more critical question is could you achieve more with the fire and a well-researched plan to get to your intended destination? Can you enjoy the best of both a well-driven life and functional plans for each leg of the journey?
I will commit the time to dissect this in a future post.