11/5/20
All it takes is a single idea to change the game.
One insight, shared in one quick conversation, can transform the way you think, work and live.
And, as with all big ideas, the simpler the better,simplicity is the trademark of Genius.
When I was about 21 years old, I was blessed to have a brilliant person as a friend & mentor. He was older than me, more instinctual and had developed the acute courage to live his life on his own terms versus following the crowd.
A true original, in my eyes & a man who influenced my perspective deeply. We used to take long walks and talk about business, creativity and getting big things done.
One morning, he said something that still speaks to me this day:
*“Son,you have to run your own race.”*
To me, that advice meant a few things,
To trust my own instincts,
live by my own values,
do my own dreams,
and quickly dismissing the chattering opinions of the critics around us.
It is too easy to buy into society’s definition of success and miss out on our own.
It is so easy to get distracted by what other people are doing and get off the clear vision and goals we’ve set for ourselves.
And I have to admit that my guiding principle has been that,
*“I’d rather fail at my own “race” than win at someone else’s.”*
“Twenty five years ago I wish someone had told me about the exponential factor of time: that every year over forty years of age goes twice as fast and every year over fifty goes ten times as fast.”
from the book ‘If I Knew Then What I Know Now’ by Richard Edler is one of the most hard hitting PC’s of advice that I have come across.
A few final – and random – pieces of advice people have shared with me along the way that have formed my thinking:
*Genius has little to do with luck and everything to do with practice.
*Health is the crown on the well person’s head that only the ill person can see.
*Fly 1000 miles for a 10 minute meeting (you can’t build great relationships via email).
*Miss a meal but don’t miss reading.
*What separates the best from the rest is how they manage the gift of their time.
*Too many people live the same year 60/70/ 80 times and call it a life.
*Life is short. Be of use.
This too shall pass,
Here’s wishing you the very best & hope this advice is of use to you achieve your goals and live a wonderful life.
Stay blessed forever.