“We all have possibilities we don’t know about.
We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”
Ralph Ransom – American Writer
Human beings are designed and created for great success. Deep in our core lies an innate and powerful desire for full expression of our abilities. There is a seed of greatness in everyone, and each person is at least remotely aware of the incredible things they could do with their lives. This is why we live so vicariously through our heroes – star athletes, pop icons, Hollywood celebrities and so on. Observe children at play, or daydreaming. They all imagine themselves as someone great. A superhero, a famous actor, a stellar athlete. I have never seen a child at play pretending to be an ordinary Joe. I suspect that children have always been this way, but technology, economics and social factors prevented most from pursuing their visions of greatness. Unfortunately, after they outgrew the Superman cape, many of these kids allowed themselves to be saddled by a very limited view of what is possible in their lives, and never adjusted their self-imposed limitations, even into adulthood. Today, the opportunities exist for everyone to use their particular mix of talents and attributes to achieve something great in life. Despite the evaporation of trillions of dollars from the stock market, there are still more self-made millionaires than there were five or ten years ago. In every area of human endeavor – science, business, art, politics, sports – people are soaring to heights never before imagined. Yet success still eludes many.
Unfortunately, they have succumbed to the challenges of life, and have settled for just getting by. You have the ability to join the ranks of those who have found success and happiness. You have the ability to achieve far more than you have achieved up to this point. All you have to do is Keep On Pushing beyond the status quo. It is almost criminal how far below our full potential many of us live our lives. We have allowed the circumstances of our birth, society, and the economy to determine the level of our success. I believe that those excuses are almost laughable today. No matter your circumstances, there are many with similar conditions who found a way to rise above them. The great “secret” to their success, and yours as well, is this: It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going. Neither your past nor your current situation has to be equal to your future. Renowned American psychologist Abraham Maslow said, “People have a tendency to settle for far less from life than they are truly capable of.” Many are stuck in dead end relationships, grappling with floundering businesses or twirling their thumbs in dead end careers when they should be moving rapidly onward and upward.
Excerpt from Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings