I have this older friend at church who I would always ask how he was doing and he would always reply to me “Well John,I woke up this morning on the green side of the grass so it can’t be that bad.” In general I consider myself an optimist. Life is way too short to be a grumpy person. It takes too much work in my opinion to be a grumpy person and it doesn’t help you much at all.

Mark Twain once said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that. But the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

Despite it’s appearances the world is a very balanced place. It seeks a general equilibrium. Just like a pendulum, the more energy you put into something the more you will get energy you get back. The key however comes in making sure your energy is being placed in the right thing.

Case in point I present the following video (warning emotionally this may be hard to watch):

Now one might view this video and say “Oh my gosh! These people are horrible!” but I don’t really see it that way. What I see some very passionate people that put a lot of effort in the wrong direction. The world wants equilibrium and so it brings them Gordon Ramsey, arguably one of the best chiefs in the world, but unfortunately they cannot take the help. I am sure you can find part 2 of this video on the Internet, but I will spare you the train wreck. In the end Gordon Ramsey quits helping them and the couple has a total melt down on Facebook. Really sad, but very preventable.

I think the problem becomes that people want success, but they want it instantly. They want to achieve a goal but think they can do it with no real work. Real success only comes through consistent practices over time. Shortcuts are usually illusions that unfortunately waste your time. You need constantly be on the watch that what you are doing is in balance. Go for your dreams, do the impossible (impossible doesn’t really exist anyway), but do it in a manner that is sustainable and will support you on your journey. It is a hard path to find (very narrow), but it is out there.