The way I see it, one’s ability to succeed is fundamentally comprised of two basic elements: 25% comes from one’s natural ability and the other 75% is based on pure old fashion luck.
That statement is in no way meant to diminish the overwhelming talents so many of us possess. But it does make you think about those that have the ability, who seem to have the drive, but can’t seem to make their dreams come to fruition.
When was the last time you watched a movie, read a book, heard a song on the radio or watched a program on TV and thought to yourself, “wow, that was really bad”.
You spend a few moments pondering the amount of money publishers and entertainment gurus must have spent to produce the final product they hope the mass population will enjoy. You realize that someone, in a fairly high level position no doubt, actually signed off on the project – actually thought it had merit and commercial appeal.
Yet there you stand in your ordinary clothes in your ordinary home with your ordinary life, scratching your head wondering what in the hell were they thinking?
But the situation I just described is not limited to the entertainment industry.
From Hollywood starlets to educators to government officials to countless others, there will always be those who manage to find success with little to no effort, while reaping the benefits so many struggle to achieve.
Each and every day we are faced with the reality that in life there are those that are qualified and those that achieve success as a matter of personal politics. At times it can be so disjointed that we question our own dedication and commitment when it seems all we do is continuously spin our wheels, yet manage to go nowhere – become unnoticed.
It begins to wear at the very fibers that enable and motivate us to continually strive harder, to reach further, with the eventual hope that everything will somehow come full circle. But for many it doesn’t.
There are immensely talented and hard working individuals all over this great land – all trying to find a way to turn their dreams into a reality. Unfortunately, they are lost in a sea of subpar individuals who exert the least amount of energy, but reap the greatest rewards.
Everyone in this life deserves a chance to prove themselves based on their abilities, their qualifications and their talents – not just some recommendation from Hollywood hotshots, government officials or family friends.
Fred Rogers once said, “One of our chief jobs in life, it seems to me, is to realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is – that each of us has something which no one else has – or ever will have – something inside which is unique to all times.”
And though it’s not always easy to remember, Rogers is 100% correct when he says “how rare and valuable each one of us really is”. Remember, sameness without being genuine may be easily achieved, but highly unmemorable in the end.
