When overnight success means 1,460 days of plugging away

It was dark when the alarm went off this morning. Dark but not cold, winter is definitely on the way, the calendar says so, but the warm summer nights are still in full swing. It's taken me a couple of months to get "used" to the 5.30 am starts, and I've noticed that the sun is much lower in the sky each time Mike and I start our twice weekly 5 km walks. 

 

We are of course in the southern hemisphere, those of you in the northern hemisphere are moving into what we are moving out of ... but unless you are watching for it, the gradual changes are almost invisible, until one day - wow ... we're finishing our walk and the sun hasn't risen above the horizon yet.

 

Gradual change. You will have heard me say this many times - there is no such thing as overnight success. And what is success anyway? 

 

What does success mean to you?

 

It has taken me a long time to work out what that means for me...

 

Did you know it has taken me 4 years to get my career back on track, 4 years of missteps and soul searching. 4 years.

 

But those 4 years has given me time to think, to reevaluate, to work out what it is I am good at, and in discovering that, I've been able to help a lot of people achieve their dreams and goals as well. 

 

A friend told me that all the years of "nagging" is finally paying off for him, money, success and a place at the top of his particular industry. NAG? me? actually he didn't say that, but that's what I always felt like I was doing. But it is good to know that my constant (then) reminders of what can happen if ... is paying off.

 

There's a guy at the gym (when I'm not walking at 5am I'm at the gym) who hates every session - he told me one Saturday morning as we sweated the small stuff. To be honest, when I am not motivated by the sheer effort of seeing the changes to my muscle tone, I count down the reps until my session is complete - which is what I told him. It's also interesting that as far as I can tell - he has not changed shape, gained muscle, lost fat or anything else - but he's going whether he likes it or not.

 

Remember - when it doesn't feel like anything is going well for you - keep plugging away, it can get better, but like the gradual rising of the sun each morning you may not notice until one day - someone says -  you know "that" person - wow, talk about an overnight success ... you smile - when you want to punch their lights out ... and say, yes, about 1,460 nights actually.

 

To your continued and gradual overnight successes.

 

Elle