Investment: Jackpot!
Dec 29, 2021"You can't expect to hit the jackpot if you don't put a few nickels in the machine." Flip Wilson
When my son Will was little, he had this hilarious habit of expressing his disappointment with anything -- what was for lunch, his loss of a game, or stepping on a Lego -- by dropping his shoulders, loosing his posture as if all his bones had liquified, and lowering his head to whine, "It's the wooorrrsssttt day EVER." He did it so often that the rest of the family mocked him mercilessly over it, and we can all do the "Will" when we encounter disappointment. 😂
It was particularly dramatic and amusing when he attempted something his older siblings did with ease -- tying his shoe, playing a video game, or just keeping up. Will is nine years younger than his sister, and five years younger than his brother, so he was performing perfectly for his age and abilities. Our message to him through his disappointments was "Keep trying. You'll get there."
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, the godfather of all personal development authors and books, says "Desire is the starting point of all achievement" and "Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."
I have a sign near my desk that says it another way...
It's one thing to ITCH for something; it's another thing to SCRATCH for it.
All too often, I expect big results from mediocre effort. Why am I not as successful as Suzie Q, I whine, knowing full well that ol' Suze has been working longer, harder, faster, while I overthink, lean into perfectionism, procrastinate, or just plain don't conquer the learning curve required.
It's a simple input/output equation, and a law that applies to the physical, mental, and spiritual. We reap what we sow. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up," says the Apostle Paul (Galatians 6:9 NIV). Giving up is the easy way. It's not the worst day ever. It's the first day of sowing something better!
What jackpot are you aiming for? What nickels do you need to put into the machine?
What is your Itch? Are you willing to scratch for it? Like, dig with your nails through the surface layers of skin down to the meat of the thing?
The WIN is worth it. Invest your time, effort, and persistence. Don't give up.
Keep trying. You'll get there!
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