Success Is Up To You Alone

By Reg L Carver

"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt." -- Jose Ortega y Gassett
Art Blakey, the late legendary jazz drummer, used to say that if you have something to offer, the world will beat a path to your door. I used to believe in this saying. I used to think that if one had a talent for something and gave a good effort, then success would inevitably follow. And while I believe there still may be a grain of truth in what Blakey said, I no longer believe in it to the extent I once did.
Folks, I've learned a lot in my career change as a writer. I've learned a thing or two about success. And I can tell you one truth about success is that it does not come easy. In order to find success, one must be willing to give his or her all -- and then be ready to give some more. Indeed, one must be willing to suffer -- and in a substantial measure -- to reach success.
Let's take writing a blog, for example. When I started mine, I had no idea what successful blogging or writing was all about. But I've learned that, to make a successful blog, one must do three things. First, one must have a creative and appealing theme and web design. Second, one must consistently write thoughtful and interesting articles, giving readers something substantial to read and think about. Lastly, one must doggedly pursue building website traffic.
Of these three things, I believe I have accomplished the first two. I have a creative web design and I believe I write thought-provoking articles. I believe I have inspired others in some measure with my writing. The last part, building site traffic, has been very challenging. Now, there was a time that, in realizing all the unwanted work ahead of me, I would have simply given up. (I am a creative sort and not technical at all. Things such as search engine optimization, tags, and clouds do not interest me at all. Frankly I despise the technical aspects of managing a website.) I simply would not have put in the grinding work required to make by blog anything more than a creative endeavor with a modicum of success.
But, you know what? For some reason (I believe it's a bit of maturing on my part), I have come to understand that, in order to be a success, I am just gong to have to bear down and do the work I do not like in order to continue doing the creative parts I love to do. For if I want a successful writing career, I must simply swallow this truth and get the job done. And I have come to realize that I am the only one who is going to make it all happen. No one will just hand you success. To the contrary, you must be willing to give everything you have to attain it. In reaching real, authentic success (however you personally define it), it's totally up to you. This is a hard but real truth.
But the wonderful news is that -- hey, at least you know. It took me years to discover this truth. And you should not view this truth as negative in any way. You should view it for what it is -- a simple truth. For, in the end, success will only mean something to you when you have earned it. That's true for just about anything I can think of. Just about everything I hold near and dear to my heart I have earned. This is true of everything from meaningful personal relationships to spirituality to material possessions. As the old saying goes, you truly do get out of something that which you put into it. It's also true that, typically, you don't get something for nothing.
Take this as a challenge. In meeting any goal, learn to do the things you do not like with every bit the same zeal you bring to the parts you do like. For, at some point, you will discover that the parts that seem so daunting now will eventually become just a natural part of your work. It's about facing and conquering fear and the unknown. You must simply dedicate yourself to mastering all the skill set you will need for success.
The more challenges you face and conquer, the more confidence you will gain for future challenges. For challenges will always be there. You will never reach a point where you can just sit on your success. If so, you will begin that slow descent into mediocrity that leads to the opposite of success.
I wish you the best of luck in your chosen endeavor

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