A little grit and some hard work

bysiskiyoujim

182 followers

5 years ago

So today, no philosophy, no words of wisdom. I only have the realization once again that this is a long haul odyssey and not a day trip to success.

I'm not complaining, not looking for kudos or complementary "you can do it" kinds of responses. There's no need for that and its not what I need to keep going. There are plenty of reasons "why not" keep going, including family, future, and the freedom that a new income stream can provide.

Being that students are either good or bad at following instruction, today was a sort of getting over a hump. Like you, I want to succeed where I have failed in the past, and the training here is excellent. Getting through each lesson, even the difficult parts, feels good when the work is done.

I've never been afraid to get my hands dirty

One of the quotes I came across today was worth sharing. It was attributed to Thomas Edison in an article some 30 years after his death. Later research showed that the first known use of the phrase was in 1921 by an Indiana newspaper article. Similar sentiments and phrasing can be found from earlier publications.

You know, luck is more often made than found. This is the quote.
“The reason most people do not recognize an opportunity when they meet it is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like Hard Work”

I've never been afraid to get my hands dirty, or to do a little hard work. When I was about 14 years old, our sewer line became clogged with roots. The plumber came out and needed an extra hand digging up part of the line, and as a "go fer" to go for tools he needed from the truck.

Even when he plumbed the line, and the black sewage came out all foul and nasty smelling, I stayed right there and kept at the job. The plumber told my mom I should come looking his way when I got older if I needed a job.

Do what you like the least first.

Every job I've ever had there were things I didn't like to do. I found if I did those things first, the rest of the job went faster and easier. That's because I had something to look forward to. The anticipation of doing what I liked doing gave me momentum to more quickly finish the things I didn't like. That's the key to motivation for me.

Have a great journey, I'm glad to be on it with you.