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Today's
Meditation:
I
have done nothing that anyone would call the work of a
genius. There are moments when I feel like a genius,
and I've been blessed with a great deal of insight, but I
can't think of anything that I do that someone else couldn't
do just as well, or even better. Some things I have
done better than others, but that's more a result of a lot
of effort on my part than it is of any genius that I
possess.
But
that's okay by me--I don't need to be a genius. I can
write, and I do my best to focus my writing on positive
topics and to develop my writing to a "more than
ordinary degree." I want to be a better writer
than most, for a very simple reason--the better I am, the
more effective my writing will be for the reader. I'm
a pretty good runner, too, but I've never made the decision
to develop that quality to a high degree. If I were to
do so, the time it would take would take time away from the
development of other areas of my self.
Hard
work and persistence are the two most common denominators of
success. Giving up on something is probably the
greatest cause of people not reaching their potential, as
opposed to a lack of ability or anything else.
Whatever you like and are good at, you have the power to
develop your ability. Art? Find teachers, take
classes, read books on technique, practice, watch
videos. Computers? Read, take classes, find
mentors, practice. Business? Read, take classes,
find mentors, watch videos, practice. Do you notice
the similarities in the words that will help you to develop
your abilities in these fields?
You
can be very, very good at anything you do, but excelling
does take work. In societies in which we expect life
to just fall into our laps somehow, we've lost the respect
for the value of developing ourselves, but if we're going to
excel, not just succeed, we must develop ourselves past the
ordinary. Reading a book a week on a topic of our
choice will make us one of the best-read people in the field
within a year. Then you can solve problems and devise
ideas and plans much more easily and effectively than if you
never had tried to develop your abilities.
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