Yesterday, I read this quote on my friend Cherie’s Facebook wall.
“The only way out is through.”
You know that feeling of reading the EXACT thing you need to hear at EXACTLY the right moment?
This was that for me.
A lot has been going on behind the scenes here – some little tweaks and some big shifts.
And the truth is…I’ve been procrastinating a bit on getting them done.
If I’m totally honest, I’ll admit that resistance – the nemesis of productivity and creativity – has set up shop in my home office.
I’m still doing my regular work – but this one big project – this one thing that could truly change the game – is not getting done.
And it’s driving me crazy.
Correction.
I’m driving me crazy.
This is a classic example of getting in our own way.
Why am I doing this?
Well a number of reasons (err… excuses) from time to technical know-how (this new project requires a new degree of technological knowledge I don’t yet know) to overwhelm to fear of failure.
And yet (and here’s the kicker), I know that once I get it done and working for me, my business will fundamentally shift for the better. That I’ll truly uplevel everything – from my profits to my promotions to my pleasure!
Today, when I read that quote – it struck me.
The only way out….is through.
I feel like I’m climbing a mountain. That I’m at base camp and the summit is way off in the distance and I don’t totally know if I’ll get there.
And I also know that the personal (and professional) satisfaction that will come from reaching the summit will be worth every step (however confusing or questionable) along the way.
The only way out….is through.
I’m sharing this with you because I’d be willing to bet that there’s a project in your life or business that you’ve been resisting. That if you just took action – even one tiny step each day – over time, you’d reach your summit.
And I’d also be willing to bet that you could look back over your life and identify pivotal times when you DID do the work and were able to reach your goal. Maybe it was to run a marathon – so you did the training work every week diligently. Maybe it was to lose weight – so you guzzled back that water and said “no” to the second piece of cake. Maybe it was to get media coverage for your business – so you kept pitching and pitching until a news outlet agreed to cover you.
Whatever it is – we all have moments in life when we’ve just DONE THE WORK – stopped the excuses – and made huge strides in our lives. And we’ve also had the times when everything felt way harder than it actually was, and we wondered if we could do it.
The people who achieve great success don’t do so by luck or happenstance (lottery winners excluded), they do it by pushing through – even when they don’t feel like it. By doing the work they know is needed to reach their summit. As Goethe said, they commit and providence steps in.
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
~ Goethe
I am resolved today.
Resistance can set up shop in someone else’s office and leave me be.
It’s time to do the work. Want to join me?
Our summit awaits.
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