Day #238: Don’t Stop Yet

Life seems to throw us into these moments, these puddles where we are left to decide, left to pull ourselves together and figure out what to do next. Just don’t stop yet. Most of us, at some point or another and maybe more than others, will encounter these moments, these trials and these setbacks. Now in these moments, we tend to look for a light… for a hope. It can take us a while to start looking, usually because we are too busy sitting and moping about how miserable or tough our lives are. Eventually, you find that ray of light, and you hold on to it like the idea of the grass is greener on the other-side and like the idea that a year from now everything will be better. Maybe it will be, maybe it won’t be. What I can tell you is; you can have all the hope in the world… but if you won’t start with being driven and actually start acting on getting to the light and making it that much brighter – you won’t be going anywhere.

By the time you get to the bright light and you find your green grass – don’t stop. Keep going. Keep going as far as you possibly can go. Rise above the past, rise above the now and seek forward and venture beyond what you first expected to be enough. Rise above your expectation of a simple hope and step up to a new level. Once you have found your “hope” and you have made it there and you are living it – grow more. Learn more. Be more. Take what you have and make it known. Share it and make it valued to the people around you.

If you are doing the same thing over and over again – even if you are succeeding, this will simply become the norm. You need to ask yourself, where would you be growing and how would you be rising above the norm, or the basic you.

In economics, there is a fundamental principle known as the Law of Diminishing Returns.

Here’s the short definition: as you get more of something, it becomes less valuable. This isn’t just economic theory, a similar trend happens in real life.

If you have zero money and you make $10,000, then it’s going to be a big deal. But if you have already earned $1 million, then making another $10,000 doesn’t seem as significant.

If you have never won a championship, then that first one is going to be incredible. But if you already have five championship rings, then adding a sixth isn’t going to be as sweet as getting the first.

If you are starting a company, then getting your first customer is an incredible rush. But if you already have 100 paying clients, then adding one more doesn’t provide the same thrill.

So how can you go from finding your light, your hope – getting there and then taking it above and beyond? How can you stay driven? How can you stay happy?

Passion.

Simple really.

Passion is the core of what inspires you every day.

By loving the practice of what you do. It’s only the people who embrace their work as a craft and fall in love with the boredom of doing it day in and day out that stay driven over the long-term.

Richard Branson is already a billionaire. He has already built hundreds of companies. He’s not still doing it because of the money. The money stopped meaning a lot to him a long time ago. He’s doing it because he loves the practice of doing it.

Guess what? This answer is now easy. If you love the practice of what you do, if you love the daily work, then you can be happy before and after you achieve your goals.

When you learn to love the process of what you are doing and not focus so much on the goal, you automatically find happiness while staying driven.

So like I say nearly every other day. Find something you love. Even when you are a mess, in a wreck and going through a rough patch… find that love, that passion, that hope and that light. Fight for it, chase it and embrace it. Once you are there, DO NOT STOP. Keep going and go into the world and ASPIRE FURTHER and INSPIRE OTHERS.

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. – Earl Nightingale

Photo Credit: Instagram @_clfurlong_ | Location: Melbourne, Australia