“The road to success is always under construction.”
– Lily Tomlin
It is true – the road to success IS always under construction. WHY is the road to success always under construction? It is a dynamic road, ever-changing. Twists and turns will appear along the way. The trick is to welcome the construction. Don’t see roadblocks; see growth opportunities. Think of yourself as the general contractor. It is YOUR road.
Maybe you did not design your road with a large hill to climb where your energy reserves are low. Perhaps the road you envisioned was flat, with no bumps, no crazy turns, and speed limits well within your comfort level.
Well, that is not the road that most of us travel. With you or without you, your plans will change. Sometimes your life accelerates, and things happen much more quickly than planned. Other times you feel stuck behind an oversized vehicle that is crawling along.
YOU own this road. Many of the unforeseen road repairs were brought about by your navigation and choices. What happens when you face obstacles on your road is absolutely about you and how you decide to handle them.
Perhaps you face an unscheduled delay in the form of a job loss. How you handle that delay shapes the stretch of road in the distance. Do you use the delay to train and educate yourself, to strengthen yourself? If so, those boulders which tumble down the mountain and in front of you later may seem like pebbles.
Maybe a customer requests a major change to a contract you are working on for them. Do you fight it, or do you take the time to understand the reason for the changes? Is this an opportunity to better get to know your customer, or is it time to force completion? Whichever position you take will cause your road to taking shape.
You are always faced with choices, and each decision you make contributes to your roadmap. In this way, your road to success is always under construction. You build it as you go.
Oh, and don’t forget – it is not about getting to the end of the road; it is about the journey, so enjoy it!