Are you a Laggard?

Whenever I need my butt kicked, I watch some Gary Vaynerchuk on social media. Gary Vee frequently questions the drive of his followers in achieving their dreams. He even goes so far as to recommend to his online followers that they stop watching his videos and use the added time to double-down on their efforts. You know the feeling you get when someone makes a critical statement about a certain behavior and it applies to you? Oh, you shake your head as if to indicate agreement with the comment. But don’t make eye contact because your looks will give away the truth; you are a guilty party.

Thomas Edison once said, “ Opportunity is missed by most people because its dressed in overalls and looks like work.” I honestly can say that I am a worker; however, I know that I can step it up. Am I willing to elevate my game through not just hard work, but work that is strategically connected to my future vision? It’s very easy to fill my daily calendar with all sorts of to-dos, but how many of those to-dos are really necessary and how many are building on my dreams? If I’m being honest with myself, there’s a lot of room for improvement.

So, going forward, I need to do the following. When the second glass of wine is looking good, I’ll think about what I could have accomplished in the thirty minutes spent on the couch savoring the vino. When I get drawn into a lengthy perusing of the Internet visiting the sites of my various thought leaders (e.g. Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, Chase Jarvis, Michael Hyatt), I need to remind myself that I am feeding their dreams, not mine. When I’m drawn to the cupboard where the Cape Cod potato chips lay waiting, remember that my physical health is as important as my mental health to achieving success in my second adulthood (a term used by Gail Sheehy). Every minute of the day I will ask myself the question, is what I’m doing what I should be doing? I need to hold myself accountable, and so do you.

P.S. – Save that vino for the periodic celebration of your commitment and effort to achieving your dreams.

#Effort #hardwork #laggard