By: D. A. Slinkard
It is hard to believe the end of 2023 is quickly approaching, and 2024 will be here before you know it. I remember speaking with my father-in-law, Dennis Urhahn, about how quickly life goes by. He commented about how often we wish away our life before it happens, and it all makes sense. He pointed out that as kids, we wished we were teenagers, we wished we were sixteen so we could drive around town. Then we wished we were eighteen and considered adults, and then it was twenty-one.
Next is wishing we could retire, and then when we reach retirement age, we go back to wishing we were young. Now, this does not happen to everyone, but I would say this occurs with most people. We always think that life will be better when X happens or when I am X years old because I will be able to do this.
The truth is we cannot sit around waiting for life to happen to us or for us because life does not work like that. We lie to ourselves that when we reach a certain age, we will start doing the things we know we should be doing, but the truth is we do not have the necessary discipline to do so. We go about wishing for things to happen in our life. We get so caught up in our dreams that we fail to realize how to make those dreams turn into reality.
I want you to think about any invention that man has ever created, and I want to point out that it started as a wish. Someone out there wished there was an invention to solve XYZ’s problem, but instead of just wishing about it, they went out and made it happen. We have to take advantage of every step of our lives, and in doing so, we must stop wishing away our lives. We need to take the time to realize what we want, and what steps we need to take to achieve it, give ourselves a timeframe for it, and then start taking massive action to fulfill our wish.
Going through these steps is how we are going to turn those wishes into reality. I understand that going from wishing life would happen to making life happen is difficult for many people, but we need to reflect upon how others achieve tremendous success. I do not believe they are successful because they are luckier than other people. I have found that the harder I work, the luckier I get. It is about hard work. I hear jealous people say another person’s success is because of their last name. Well, if having the “right” last name is going to bring you success, then why not head down to the courthouse and legally change yours? Sounds silly to do so, right? Yet we have people make that excuse every day because they do not have the “right” last name.
Probably my favorite excuse for others’ success is because of who they know. Why is this a problem? How many times do we reach our limits, and need others to help us get better? Parents do this with their kids all the time, and we need to understand that using our resources to help obtain success is not necessarily bad. Whatever there is in life that you want to achieve success in, it comes down to one simple step you must take. It is not about wishing for success or hoping for success…not at all.
The one step we must take is to decide. We must make a conscious effort proclaiming exactly what it is we will do. When we get stuck on our wishes, it is because we have not fully committed to our dreams. With anyone who has success in life, you will find a certain belief level in their own ability. Anyone stuck on the sidelines of their wishes is someone who is not committed 100% to the task at hand.
You must decide you are going to be a success. You must decide you are not willing to accept failure as an option. You must decide you will do “whatever it takes” (W.I.T.) to obtain success. Most importantly, you must decide you are going to leave the wishing and hoping for those who will not succeed while you do what you must to achieve your success. This year is almost over, and the new year is about to start; what will you do about it?
By: D. A. Slinkard
D.A. Slinkard would love your feedback. You can contact him at da.slinkard@gmail.com
November 14, 2024
