Another Secret to Success – Determination
Nike’s trademark is “Just do it!™” and Larry the cable guy’s is “Git’er done! ™” Both are wildly successful enterprises. This call to arms tells you to get up off your remote-control jumpseat and make things happen. It works. Amadeus Schnicklefitz – remember him? Of course you don’t – his catchphrase was “Well, just do the best you can.”
How long do you think you’ve got? I can pretty much guarantee it aint’ ‘forever.’ If you want to do something, go somewhere, learn something, make x amount of money- just git it done!
How? Determination is one of the key ingredients.
I was out in the yard this morning –it was only 90! So I had to take advantage of it and get a little yard work done. Every region has a ‘thing’ – ours in Arizona is ROCKS – as in, “What color rocks are you putting in YOUR yard?” I poured 17 ton of red rock around my house. I have a small patch of grass for the Chihuahuas but othern’ that, I’ve got some hardy desert dwelling fruit trees and lots of cactus.
Of course if you have tons of red rock, green weeds look awful. So there I was pulling weeds and apologizing to them as I pulled. I don’t like them there, but on the other hand, anything that can grow and keep growing in 120 degree Arizona summers deserves a modicum of respect. That’s determination!
I remember in college I was renting a small apartment. I had about $11 left at the end of each month. My landlord was never all that great. One Saturday I woke up to find the shower was badly clogged. To shower in it meant water up past my ankles. And I didn’t want to contemplate what was swimming in that pool. I called my landlord and he promised he’d be there sometime in the next week, “do the best you can till then.” Bleahh.
So – I took my $11 to the hardware store, browsed through a how-to book on plumbing, and decided what I needed to do. I bought a plunger and toddled on back to the house. Hey, I was going to a college whose motto was “Learn by doing!”
I plugged everything the way the book said, and proceeded to plunge. I just decided I was going to do this until I got the dang thing unclogged, even if it meant I was pulling gunk from the other side of town out of my drain. An hour later, with steady plunging, I yanked a miniature-poodle-size chunk of hair out. Yuck.
But the drain was clean! It took a few hours out of my life, but I got what I needed.
Determination, grit, stick-to-it-iveness, whatever you want to call it… it will get you where you need to go. And you might learn a little plumbing along the way!
Happy weekend!
Beth
Beth Terry, CSP, is a Professional Speaker, Author, and Corporate Trainer.
© 2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All US and International Rights Reserved
It’s now 5:30 a.m. I have been visiting blogs since 2:30 and the same theme keeps popping up. Do it. Take Action. Stop Procrastinating. I know that’s what I needed to hear. I am over-busy but not as productive as I’d like. Going to go get showered and make some changes! Thanks Beth!
Vickie
Right you all are. And yet, we can’t do it all alone. Maybe one of the keys is to be more clear about deadlines and commitment levels when we delegate. I couldn’t get this blog done without my Blog Goddess Tia Graham, and I couldn’t get the new website (soon to be unveiled!) done without my Web Guru Grant Holmes. So maybe part of determination is also being careful and picky when it comes to finding your team!
Beth
Me, too, ladies. Me, too! I just do it or get her done. Sometimes, I don’t wanna. Then again, sometimes it feels better when you accomplish something you didn’t want to do vs. the thing that you did.
How’d that cacti photo session go, Beth?
~Jackie
Absolutely true, Beth! Lately, I’ve felt like the little Red Hen–there are times when the only way you can get it done is to do it yourself. My to-do list is long enough, now I have a follow-up list for people who have promised they’d do something, and I have to keep checking to make sure it gets done.
Hi Beth. Absolutely! There have been a number of times I have waited for someone else to do what they were supposed to do, and spent a lot of energy being frustrated. When I decide to stop that and just take care of it, I realize that the time and money to take care of it was a lot less “expensive” than the mental and emotional toll of being frustrated. Thanks for the reminder!
Andrea Beaulieu