Vision, Talent and Traffic Jams

In today’s world, good (not extra-ordinary) talent is ample. Hence, gone are the days when people could afford to act pricy because of a rare skill-set they possessed – which might have been inculcated during their education or maybe it was hereditary. Without working in an appropriate fashion, a gifted individual can literally squander his life. As a result, today, we understand the importance of hard-work for staying competent, more than ever before.

Now, let’s come to another crucial point. We are cognizant of the fact that a talented and a hard-working person has the ability and the capability to walk that extra mile – that extra mile which, in Zig Ziglar’s words has no traffic jams. But, there is not just one path, instead, there are multiple paths. Neither hard-work nor talent can help you choose the path. They’d help you succeed once you choose the path, not a horribly wrong one though. Or else, you’d be that fish who was considered stupid because it couldn’t climb a tree, and never realized that it was not supposed to.

Going forward, because of such a huge competition in most of the fields and also because of mind-boggling diversity of these fields, people spend more time in analyzing choices today than ever before. They make a choice that in expectation would involve maximum application of their skills and will lead to a proportional reward, in monetary terms and as well as from the perspective of job satisfaction. Once they choose the path, they shift gears and go full-throttle. There is a high chance that good talent and hard-work will lead you to a good life. But, does the story end here?

You just chose the start of the path. Where did the path lead? How did you wish your journey to be? How receptive were you to the choices that came your way in forms of intersection with other paths or opportunities to create new paths? It makes a lot of difference eventually. Nurturing a vision is irreplaceable, and it cannot be compensated with just good talent and hard-work. You should be a prospective thinker. If you can envision your journey in space and time, and the impact of your choices, culmination can be pleasantly surprising and different from a mediocre outlier, i.e. an outlier among outliers – a true outlier.

Clock

Time ticks fast

Time ticks slow

It's a state of mind

That makes you think so.

Yesterday had 24 hours

Today will have the same

Morrow would not get more

Though you may think so.

Have I turned the last stone?

X is my passion, my ambition. I love X. I am at peace with X. I find solace in X. X defines me to myself. X has pervaded my dreams and my thoughts. One day, I met ABC. He said that I cannot achieve X, I cannot be with X. I asked why. He gave a reason. Obviously, the reason seemed stupid to me. I ignored his warnings and his words of dissuasion. I continued marching, in the hope to unite with X someday soon.

On my way, I met DEF. He argued that I am overly attached to X. I reasoned that they taught me to pursue what I felt strongly about. He agreed, but added, “Not blindly! Apply logic, calculate the odds and if the numbers are favorable, only then give it a shot!”  I replied, “My calculations look fine. Why do you doubt them?” He said because you are not supposed to have X. I asked why I am not supposed to have X, again. He mocked. Then he ignored. And he walked, away! I sighed. But I was energetic and passionate as before. He could not hurt my spirit. I was happy.

I kept fighting. Pointless to say, I hit rocks more often than not. I felt depressed at times for not uniting with X until now. I recalculated. The faith, the feel and the love, all were genuine. My rationale and my instincts were with me. I continued my struggle. I read pages. I read experiences of people. All success stories had been tough. I doubt they gave me inspiration, but yeah they were good enough to keep my hopes alive.

Today, I am still fighting. They say I am a rational guy. I know I am a rational guy. But today, they are questioning my rationality. They always taught me to be relentless for my dreams, for my love, for my passion. Today, the same people are telling me to change my course. They say I am crazy. They say I do not wish to face the reality. They say I am a coward. I have shut my mouth. I have shut my mind to their criticism. I am still fighting. It is because, the faith, the feel and the love, are all genuine.

I will keep on fighting until I am sure that I have turned the last stone. After that, I will accept my fate.