Yesterday on Twitter, I woke up to this quote that Mr. James T. Smith a.k.a. LL Cool J posted:
The greatest danger for a lot of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it but that it is too low and we reach it.
WOW! How powerful are those words?! How many of us set such simple goals to achieve because we truly don't believe or trust in ourselves completely? One we do reach that goal we feel accomplished yet we really haven't made any REAL progress. This quote is so moving to me. I can not stop think about it. It's so real. I have always said that there are two types of people on this world. There are the one's who follow what others say and achieve what others only believe is achievable. Then there is the person who dreams and believes that anything is achievable and going beyond what others try to stop them at achieving. Make sense? Sure it does. I'll explain in a real-life example.
When I was younger, about 11 years old, I developed a love of clothing. I would go to different stores, mainly the BX on the Air Force base, and look at all the new clothes. Every week I would ask my mother if she could purchase this or that for me because I "had to have it"! There was the burgundy jeans, the plain-front khakis, the Fila coat, the Nike Air Jordan tee, etc. that I had to have. I was so intrigued by fashion already that I decided that I wanted to be a clothing designer. I began telling people my dream. I got some positive encouragement but what I really remembered was the negative comments. The worst one that I heard more than once was that designers were "gay". Not all designers just male designers. Well, going from a child to an adolescent, fitting in is what we do. Well I don't want to be considered gay especially while making new friends and trying to be cool. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gay people but as an adolscent young man, being gay will not go over well.
So years passed and I filed that dream in the archives of my brain. My first job I took was at a clothing store. I still loved clothes even though my dream had been set aside. I used to get into trouble because my father wanted me to save my money but every week I had to have something new still. As I went through high school I always got compliments on my style and clothing. Still in my mind I knew I loved clothes. One year in high school, we went on a trip to NYC to visit F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology). I loved it there! I thought that I definitely should go there. As my senior year began and I had to seriously start thinking of college I did think about F.I.T. But what I remembered was that there was mostly only girls at the school (That should have definitely encouraged me to go). Again, the words of people saying designers were only gay began to speak in my mind. So I didn't choose to go there or even enroll in anything that had to do with fashion whatsoever.
I completed my college career knowing that I wanted to be some sort of entrepreneur. But what? Real estate? Investing? Franchising? My mind always seemed to focus on clothing. Well maybe I should open a clothing store. Well I don't really have the finances or the perfect credit to do so so that is out of the question. So I continued to work in clothing stores. See a pattern here. Finally, I moved from Boston to San Antonio and that is where I really found myself. I realized who cares what people think. There are only two kinds of people in this world when it comes to achieving goals and dreams. I already knew that I wasn't the one who could spend all my time climbing a corporate ladder. How could I spend the next 45ish years working for someone else, day in and day out, helping build someone else's dream while I have a life of my own and could build my own.
It took me a few years to figure out the best name for my company, J. Benjamin Clothing but it was worth the wait. One of my biggest fears was actually taking the risk to start. How can I finance this? What if people don't even like what I do? What if it takes too long? What if I fail? How will I ever know the answers to those questions if I never try. So I began designing. I began the first few steps to what I have always dreamed of. I am still at the very beginning stages of where I plan to be but I have never felt so much excitement and happiness by trying to do what I was meant to do.
Do you have dreams and goals? I bet you there have been many people who laughed at them or even said there is no way that could happen. How do they know that? Those are the people who follow the simple path of what they think life is supposed to be about. They don't want to put in the hard work of achieving great success. They may overcome a few obstacles but once there becomes too many or there is one too big they give up. Why give up? Because it's the easiest thing to do. Give up, go back to what you already know and keep doing the same old thing. Instead of trying to figure out a new avenue to overcome the obstacle retreating to what is comfortable is what most people do. Now I ask you again, do you have dreams and goals? Are you truly going after them or are your waiting for someday? Has there been enough people to tell you that your goal is just a dream? Well it is to them because they know that the comfortable way works. It gives you a paycheck. Does that paycheck even make you happy though? Probably not. It's not too late to go after what your heart desires. It may be harder to get there but chasing a dream never expires. I encourage all of you to go after what your heart wants. Start by making little goals for yourself. Once you achieve those little goals, make new little goals. Keep going until you actually realize your dream. I bet once you actually obtain it you will have newer dreams that will need newer goals to achieve.
You are the only one holding yourself back from achieving your dream! Lets start today together and I will see you at the top!
