Crock-Pot Creativity
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“Discipline, not desire, determines a man’s destiny.” – Andy Stanley
This past week I spent some time watching Dave Ramsey (who has some great ideas by the way). His show recently highlighted people who have overcome tremendous obstacles in their lives. Their stories were unbelievably inspiring. One guy had overcome cerebral palsy and a speech impediment to become a motivational speaker. Another was born with a handicap and ultimately a business was born out of that handicap which has become quite successful. To be honest, I didn’t get to catch every show for the week, but I wish I had.
At the end of the week Ramsey made an observation that is worth mentioning. Ramsey provided commentary on what success looks like from the outside as compared to how it is perceived. Many times success can be perceived as being easy to the outside observer. Almost all wildly successful people seem to rise out of nowhere- suddenly and without expectation. The perception is that they immediately (and easily) conquered the mountain of success in whatever industry they appeared in. Then they move on to victoriously crown themselves the king or queen of the mountain and live happily ever after. But from the perspective of the person on top of the mountain- the person who has painfully labored for that success, the climb to the top is dramatically different than the accepted perception of it.
Ramsey made a comment that has stuck with me and I’ve thought about it often this weekend. I’m not sure I have the wording right, but here is the general idea… “Success is seen from the outside as a gleaming mountain, but successful people know the mountain is actually a pile of garbage, they just happen to be standing on top of it.” The idea is that success is really a series of bad experiences a person must go through in order to come out on top. It is these experiences and failures that actually enable a person to achieve success. Thomas Edison is known for saying “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” We must accept the fact that true success in any endeavor requires hard, sustained, focused WORK. Unfortunately, many people suffer from D.T.S.S. (Drive-Through-Success-Syndrome) which causes them to quit before they achieve the success they desire.
As you move forward in your success quest, remember that success in any endeavor is not analogous to fast food… it’s more comparable to a meal that slowly stews in a crock pot. As you work on yourself and your business, over a long period of time, the aroma begins to draw people to you. Running your life and business with this in mind takes more time, however, it produces higher quality results. If success is taking longer than you anticipated, be encouraged, hold fast to your vision, and continue to create with crock-pot certainty. Don’t ever allow failure to steer you away from creativity and innovation- sometimes the best crock-pot meals contain the most creative ingredients!
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