Once upon a time, I was young, energetic and bold. I wanted to change the world. I wanted to run faster than everyone else. I wanted to take over the world. I was inexperienced. I was naive.
Here I am, today. Not so young, not so energetic and old. But being old comes with many perks and experience is one of them. From my experience what I have learned is that this world doesn't run with you or wait for you. Remember your first job interview and waiting for that first call? That may be the most important call of your life, but it doesn't mean that the company is waiting for you.
Early mistakes
In my earlier career, I used to get frustrated when people did not reply to my emails or calls. I made many mistakes. I ruined several potentially good business relationships just because I wasn't patient.
I remember in my early days, I reached out to my company's CEO and proposed several ideas including rebranding the company website, design and others. Obviously, my ideas weren't taken seriously. I got discouraged and stopped proposing any new ideas.
Years passed and today, I am in the same shoes as my former CEO. Now, I realize when you run a company, you have some goals, you have some responsibilities, your priorities change and you may not have time and/or resources to implement all of them.
“Have patience and be persistent”
Lesson learned
If you want to be successful, whatever success means to you, you must have patience. Don't get discouraged. Continue to do what you believe in and what you love. Your time will come and some day you will find the right person who will listen to you. But you must be persistent. Just because my idea was not accepted the first time, I should have continued.
You're not alone
Here is the good part. You're not alone. Even the most famous and successful people have had this problem. At times, they lost their patience too. But they were persistent. Even after failing several times, they didn't give up.
Steve Jobs failed several times and eventually built the most valuable company in the world.
Abraham Lincoln failed many times and ended up being one of the most successful presidents in history.
Bill Gates failed in his first business, but he did not give up and ended up becoming the richest person in the world.
Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School Of Cinematic Arts multiple times and ended up being one of the most successful filmmakers in the world.
Michael Jordan was rejected from his high school's varsity basketball team and ended up being the most successful basketball player in the world.
After Harrison Ford's first small movie role, a filmmaker told him he would not succeed in the movie business and he ended up becoming one of the most popular actors of his time.
Conclusion
It's simple. You want something. You must go after it with full potential. There will be times when things will not go your way. You must be patient and be persistent.
Recommended Readings
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