Lance Armstrong and New Years
Tonight we will transition into a new year. 2009 (great!). Goals will be set with intense resolution and vigor (great!). Dreams will be dreamt (great!). Energy will be conjured up from places we never thought energy could be conjured from (great!). The Champagne will pop (great!) and the tinsel will fly (ehh). From this point on we believe that our lives will never be the same again. Everything is going to change for the better (huge round of applause!).
And then!……
… we roll out of bed the next morning around 11am wondering where all that awesome power and inner motivation dissipated to (community sigh).
The thing I become more aware of every New Years Eve is that it is a time when many of us believe success will be immediately discovered. One day to turn our lives around! One point in time where everything starts to go right (right?). The second thing I become more aware of each New Years Eve is that this simply is not the case. One night or day or even an entire week is not enough time to build and implement success (however you choose to define success) into one’s life. The beginning of a new anything is simply not enough to push successes buttons to favor you.
The myth and disguise of New Years Eve celebrations is that since we have a fresh start, free from challenge thus far, we won’t have to endure through any hardships or trials in the future in order to achieve what it is that we desire. Don’t be fooled by the mask of tinsel and bright lights. We forget that with fresh goals and resolutions come intense pressures from the outside and inside that attempt to get us to quit or give up on that which yesterday was so very important to us.
Our friend Lance is getting ready to ride for his 8th yellow in 2009. He won 7 straight before taking time off to accomplish other feats over the past 3 years. Did you know who Lance was before he started winning big races? Did you know he was successful? Did you understand his story before Nike took him in? The point is this: Success did not come over night to Lance. He had to endure through painful series after painful series of training regimens and races. He had to win one of the world’s most grueling races 7 times before most of us even took notice. His success did not come over night (not even a New Years Eve night!). It wasn’t built in a day, a weekend, a race or even a decade of races. His success was built by enduring through the hardest of trials and self-imposed struggles and challenges in order to eventually be able to do what it was that he really sought to do: raise millions of dollars for cancer research
New Years crucial points:
- Success is not built in one night. It is a process of endurance.
- Many times throughout life, we must struggle through the challenges and adversities in order to finally get to where we have the opportunity to share with the world what is most important to us. A voice that people listen to and follow doesn’t come freely, it is earned.
- Build success starting now! If you wake up on the 1st feeling down, don’t wait till next New Year to start over. Build success step-by-crucial-step.
- Never give up.
