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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Pathway to success

I was reading a book and came across this little gem.

Overnight success is a myth. I'd been working since I was too young to remember, dedicating myself to the wire, but celebrity can happen overnight.  GIRL ON A WIRE by Gwenda Bond

It's true, people don't get accomplished overnight. My father sent me a quote my freshman year of college.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Celebrity can happen overnight. All of a sudden someone's name is everywhere, their book is selling, they're making all sorts of best seller lists and everyone is talking about them. Just because we didn't hear about them yesterday, last month or last year doesn't mean they weren't working towards their goal. Fighting, struggling, feeling depressed and overwhelmed. In otherwords walking the same path we all walk.

Keep it up. Your books are coming, your celebrity may be next. But for now, keep toiling, because you will never reach success without hard work.

11 comments:

  1. Spesh,

    I've always loved the quote "The harder I work, the luckier I get." :0)

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  3. Sara, nice reminder. We get caught up into thinking the success stories we hear about happened in an instant. We do not hear about the struggles people encountered along the way--before success.

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  4. I LOVE that quote by Longfellow. I think it's going on my "wall".

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  5. Super, duper, awesome post! VH1 used to have the stories of what all the singers who were "instant successes" went through. I remember Sean Combs (P Diddy or whatever he's going by now) worked for free washing cars for record execs for years. Tom Petty sold albums out of the trunk of his car and played small venues because record labels refused to sign him.

    And you're right, we don't see the sweat- just the success.

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  6. I hadn't seen that Longfellow quote before, very inspiring!

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  7. Any overnight success amounts to years a pain-staking work that no one was around to see. Writers are like gems. We all need a thorough polishing. :)

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  8. Great quote by Longfellow. A very timely reminder as we start the new year!

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  9. You know, I wish celebrity DIDN'T happen overnight, because then we would all stop thinking success would, too ;) It's a great quote, though, and a great reminder for all of us who tend to get impatient...sigh.

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  10. Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Sara!

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  11. Even the younger stars worked every day of their short lives to make it big. Thanks for sharing this, Sara. Great quotes.

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