The 5 Hard Truths About Chasing Success

There are certain things in life that are inarguably true. Many of these truths are fairly harsh and unforgiving, but yet, they are truths.

Benjamin Franklin is famous for saying:

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

These hard truths of life are the elements which will have great impact. Knowledge of these will help some individuals gain the perspective they need to push themselves into the success state of mind, yet will force the rest to become so scared that they will never aim to be extraordinary.

The interpretation of these truths is what separates the wolves from the sheep.

1. You are going to die

There is nothing to lose in this life, because everything is fleeting and will eventually end.

The guy who makes a bunch of bad decisions and spends his life in and out of prison is going to achieve the exact same outcome as the guy who lives a typical, conservative life, and the guy who chases his huge ambitions and is admired by the masses: death.

Death is the common denominator, so what really matters is what you do in the time that is given to you. We all have this little window of opportunity in which we get to do whatever we want. We can choose a path of joy, success, achievement, or we can pursue the easy road of contentment, boredom, and mediocrity.

It’s up to you.

Death is certain.

2. Nothing you care about matters

Along the same lines of the gloomy topic of inescapable death, you’re the only one who really cares about your story– your highs, your lows and your experiences. Thinking that the things you get caught up on every day have any sort of importance on any level higher than your own consciousness is the fastest way I know to lose direction and sacrifice true happiness.

Decide whether or not you’re going to be one of those people who do great things with their time on this earth and if so, stop worrying about anything except that, because you will just end up being a sad little lost creature, floating aimlessly through a dull reality waiting for the blessing of death to be granted by “Father Time”.

3. Reality is a safety net, built by the people who had the balls to build it

Something that has really helped me to gain some perspective and to think positively about my path to success, is to imagine life and our reality as a wedding reception, with our legacy being the wedding “guest book.” Some people in attendance (of this thing we call life) are going to simply float by and occupy themselves with socialising and drinking–so much distraction that they forget to sign the book.

Others will write a short one-line message with no real substance–a message so generic it may as well have been stock printed on the guest book to begin with. But a select few will leave a message so honest and meaningful that it will bring any bride to tears and inspire her to live life to the fullest and to love truly and wholly.

This wedding metaphor demonstrates the varying levels of impact each individual can have on the world around them. Build the right kind of reality by being bold, unique, and courageous. Otherwise, your contributions are easily forgotten or written off, or may not even show up in the record books.

4. Searching for meaning will destroy you

If I’m lucky, I have another sixty or seventy years in which I can pursue my earthly desires and do the things that bring me happiness and fulfilment. On the other hand, I have eternity to spend floating through the spirit world, if such a thing does exist. So I am not going to spend my time on earth trying to become closer to the spirit world. I already have a one way ticket, and I guess I will just figure it out once I get there.

The hippies are wrong. Sitting under a tree and thinking about the meaning of life is not going to help you find it. There is no such things as one meaning of life, we all have our own version and meaning, and we should stop thinking about it because in doing so, you are missing out on living it. Get excited to make the most of your conscious time on this giant rock floating through the universe and do whatever makes you happy without intentionally hurting others. That’s all you need to know. There is literally no other reason to be here that you are ever going to find during your lifetime.

5. Being ordinary will get you nowhere. Take risks

Imagine your life is a gymnastics competition and it’s your turn on the beam. You have a small amount of time to prove to the judges that you believe in being the best and that you have perfected your craft. You need to impress them. Some people are sure to crumble under pressure and forget all the training and hard work they have put in, as their fear prevents them from performing fully. Others are going to reach only about 20% of their potential, performing only the stunts that are “safe” : those that know they can land because they have done them successfully for years, but they are not really the challenging manoeuvres.

Then you have the ones who stayed up until 2am the night before practicing the stunts they hardly know, but will break new ground and prove themselves to be absolute champions. The last group of gymnasts know that they could fail hard by over rotating and landing on their face in humiliation, but they are willing to risk it anyway because the reward is worth it.

Think about life like that and I think about which gymnast you would rather be.

……

Benjamin Franklin once said something of relevance to this that I’d love to quote for you:

“But our great security lies, I think, in our growing strength…for there is much truth in the Italian saying, Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you.”

These 5 unerring truths presented to you are here to let you know whether you’re going to be a sheep (following the crowd, traveling the safe path, clinging to normalcy and mediocrity) or a wolf (powerful, strong, bold, courageous, and without a care for what others think.)

The only thing in life that matters is following your dreams, and becoming the things you aspire to become.

Do things that make you happy.

You are here to achieve your dreams and to manifest a new reality out of pure imagination.

In your short time on this earth, I suggest you follow the path of the wolf, and you’ll find that these truths aren’t a bad thing, but will propel you onwards toward a rich, rewarding life of success and true fulfilment.

Feature Image: Harvey Specter | Suits