As I was driving yesterday, I was caught in a heavy traffic jam as usual. Looking ahead, there were so many stationary cars in front of me. I was tempted to take a different route rather than to be stuck in the jam, even though I knew it would take a longer time to reach home. Finally, I decided not to do so, and took the same route. How many of you would have opted for a route that takes a longer time, as I did in my situation?
In a fast-paced society such as ours, many of us desire immediate results. Taking short cuts to achieve this has become the norm rather than the exception. Busy people would be especially familiar with conveniences such as instant coffee, instant noodles; two-in-one shampoo…the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with using these products. They are practical. However, the danger arises when the mindset that we can achieve results instantly becomes so ingrained in us that we are lulled into thinking that success, too, can be achieved at the snap of the fingers.
Get-rich-quick schemes are a worrying example of this. Many advertisements on the Internet make lavish promises that you can earn thousands of dollars a week without working hard for it. They claim that maximum gain can be achieved with minimum effort. At times, the returns are so attractive that I cannot help but wonder how genuine these promises are. If the success promised is too good to be true, it is not worth believing! Why not? This is because success, unlike coffee, noodles, and shampoo, cannot be made with an instant formula.
There is no short cut to success. This may seem to be an exception for those born with a silver spoon in their mouth – but even then, they need to work hard to secure their inheritance. If you want success, you have to pay the price for it. Can you imagine taking an examination where all the students scored Distinction equally regardless of how much a student studied for it? Earning that Distinction would be meaningless, because it does not cost you anything. The Examination of Success, however, rewards a Distinction to those who work for it. It comes at a great cost to the person who wants it, and that is what makes it worth pursuing.
Diligence is the mother of good fortune and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.
Miguel De Cervantes.
If a farmer desires to reap a great harvest, he needs to toil in the field day after day. In the same way, if we want to be successful, we need to lay the foundation for success through our labour – doing the right things in the right way. Add this ingredient to your success recipe: Constantly pursue your purpose with due diligence. Then you will realize that your goals are not as insurmountable as they appear.
It may or may not have mattered which route I took to get home when I was stuck in the jam – I would have reached home either way. However, the seriousness and diligence with which we pursue our dreams determines the journey we end up taking, and how close we are to attaining our vision of success. Which route will you choose today?
What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence.
Johnson: Milton
As I was driving yesterday, I was caught in a heavy traffic jam as usual. Looking ahead, there were so many stationary cars in front of me. I was tempted to take a different route rather than to be stuck in the jam, even though I knew it would take a longer time to reach home. Finally, I decided not to do so, and took the same route. How many of you would have opted for a route that takes a longer time, as I did in my situation?