1 - circumstances
“Circumstances do not make the man; they merely reveal him to himself.”
- Seneca
*
You try to stay busy, distracting yourself, avoiding the thought.
You don’t consider it, afraid of what it might reveal. About your life, About you.
It grows in size as you ignore it.
You consider it for a moment, but the implications are disturbing and you shut it off.
But the thought persists, scratching away at the cave wall, wanting to be let out.
It’s a question you ask yourself, but never answer.
It’s different for everyone, but its meaning is the same.
Only you know what your question is.
And you already know the answer.
*
Think of your heroes. Those you look up to, or aspire to be like. You admire them for their achievements; specifically, how they overcame adversity and succeeded.
It strikes a chord, normal people doing extraordinary things.
But what did they do differently?
Here are four examples:
George Carlin – a comedian
JK Rowling – a writer
Tyson Fury – a boxer
Jack Ma – a businessman
Maybe not your heroes, maybe not even people you know. But what they were dealt, how they overcame their situations, and their ultimate achievements are all the more inspiring for one reason.
They were just like you.
George Carlin – A high school and army drop out, stuck in a job he hated with an unplanned child on the way
JK Rowling – a jobless single parent with no future
Tyson Fury – a mentally troubled young man from the misunderstood and persecuted gypsy community
Jack Ma – a young man who was too ugly for a fast food job
Vastly different backgrounds, but the same internal struggle. Each of them was troubled by their internal questions: unsure of their identity, unsure of their purpose, and unsure of their future.
Is this starting to sound familiar?
None of these people were born into money, won the genetic lottery, or had the light of good fortune shine upon them.
They were all down and out, at their lowest point.
It’s here, at the moment of greatest discomfort, that they did something radical.
They confronted themselves.
In doing so, the following happened:
realisations occurred
decisions were made
actions were taken
Analysed in the cold light of day, these are three simple points.
But what these people did separates them from everyone else.
Four people from vastly different backgrounds came to the same realization.
And what was the realization that united them?
Bullshit.
*
This realization brought a new perspective.
They looked past their bullshit and saw reality.
They acknowledged the cards that they had been dealt in life.
Did they accept what they had been dealt?
Yes, but only as a starting point.
They started again, but things were different.
It wasn’t the same person in the same situation.
With a new perspective came something which had evaded them before.
Free from bullshit, they had clarity. Everything which had seen so complicated, was now broken down into three simple points:
This is where I am
This is where I want to be
There is a gap in between
They acknowledged the gap.
And they decided to bridge it.
How?
Talent?
Blind luck?
A chance encounter with a generous millionaire?
No.
They used something that was right in front of them, but hidden in plain sight. Once they became aware of it, they began to see it in everything.
What happened when they saw it?
Success beyond measure:
George Carlin - became one of the 3 greatest comedians in the histroy of stand up comedy
JK Rowling - writing a globally bestselling series
Tyson Fury - became the boxing heavyweight champion of the world
Jack Ma - owning one of the biggest businesses, and becoming the richest man in China
Each of these people achieved greatness in their fields.
The key point is, they did it by starting at zero.
At their lowest point they sat down and analyzed:
what they had
who they were
what they wanted
They found that numbers one and two did not lead to number three. So they changed number two.
What they did, so can you.
Would you like to know how?
Then let’s begin...