Success is a Journey | 2019 Motivation

Did you ever stop and ask yourself, why is it that some people are more successful than others? Why is it some people make more money, live longer, have better relationships? When I was 15, I set out on a lifelong journey to find the answer to that question. Why are some people more successful than others? I learned later that almost every great venture begins with an act of faith, like driving into the dark, into the unknown. In a way, nature protects us by shielding us from knowledge of the difficulties and obstacles that lie ahead. Because if we really knew all the problems we would face, the setbacks, the suffering, the temporary failure, and the disappointments many of us would have hesitate about ever even starting out at all. And in many ways, a trip or a journey is a metaphor for life. My first big trip was that and much, much more. It had such an enormous impact on me that I've never really gotten over it. My whole life has been different as a result. I learned then and for the rest of your life, whenever you try to do something out of the ordinary, people will line up to tell you that you can't do it, why you can't do it, that you lose your time, you'll lose your money. Even people who should know better will try to discourage you. To achieve anything greater worthwhile, you must train yourself to rise above these people, ignoring them and pressing on towards your goal regardless. And we were in the Sahara, the largest desert on earth. Dead ahead was the Tenezerit, the emptiest single stretch of the Sahara. 500 miles of nothing. Not a fly, not a blade of grass, as flat as a tabletop. 500 miles. The enormity of what we had embarked on finally, finally began to sink in. We had to get across the 500 miles in two days or we'd be out of water. It was further than we thought, but we made it. Just before the heat forced us to stop. We were all aware of how close we had come to actually dying in the desert. We had done it. We were over the Sahara. I'll wrap up this story here by telling you what I learned about life and success in the Sahara crossing. Here are seven rules you can apply to any challenge that you face in achieving anything you desire. Rule number one. The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal. And then launch. Get started. Take action. Do something. Move. Number two. Once you've launched towards your goal, never consider the possibility of failure. The Germans have a saying. It's immerfore nie Zurich. It means always forward, never backward. Always forward, never backward. Never consider the Possibility of failure. Number three. The only time you will ever have is now. If you live every day, every hour, the best you can, the rest will take care of itself. Number four, Watch out for the naysayers. Get around positive people. Get around winners, like people in this room. Fly with the eagles and refuse to listen to objections and reasons why you can't succeed. Number five. Welcome obstacles and difficulties as valuable and inevitable steps on the ladder of success. Remember, the difficulties come not too obstruct, but too instruct. Number six. Be clear about your goal, but be flexible about the process of achieving it. Be willing to change, to try something new. Keep your mind open and fluid and flexible. Be willing to accept feedback from your environment and correct your course. This is a key quality of peak performers. They're not rigid, they're flexible. Remember, it's not what you have, but what you do with what you have that separates winners from. From losers. And remember, number seven, the last rule is nobody does it alone. At every step on our journey across Africa, people helped us with advice and with food and with assistance and with money, but especially with warmth and with kindness and with generosity. When life is over, it will be the people that we lived and laughed and loved with that we remember more than anything else. So don't be afraid to ask for help from others. It's a mark of strength, courage and character. And don't be reluctant to give of yourself to others generously. It's the mark of caring and compassion and personal greatness. The reason the Sahara story was so relevant for me was because after the Sahara, I never felt that there was anything I couldn't do. I felt programmed for success, for life, although it took me many years to understand it. And the reason why this story may be of interest to you is because I believe that everyone has a Sahara to cross. Perhaps more than one. Many of you are crossing your own Saharas right now. Everyone eventually goes through periods of great difficulty, their own private hells, their dark nights of the soul. But it is by facing whatever life gives us with courage and determination that we grow more surely toward the stars. If you will resolve with whatever life hands you to carry on, there is nothing that can stop you from achieving the greatness for which you were created. Thank you. Here.