I think I’m as guilty as anyone of wanting things to happen faster than they normally do.  Stuff (whether personal or business) that I’ve succeeded in always take longer than I think it will or plan on, and it never happens in the sequence I’d counted on.

These just might be Laws 1 and 2 on the road to success, if there is such a list someplace — takes longer and never goes down the road you thought it would.

And, these laws are probably true, no matter what you do, whether it’s trying to figure out your life’s work or just sitting down at your desk for a day of writing and trying to getting something done.

I’ve been participating recently in an online forum about writing articles for online distribution at Ezine Articles, a nifty site that hooks up writers with online publishing outlets and resources.  (Damn good service by the way — check ‘em out.)

From my own and many years of experience, it takes consistent and steady progress toward your goals, day after day after day, and year after year, before you’ll start to see any meaningful results.

I remember in the early years of starting my software company, InfoSource Learning, we always seemed to expect immediate results, whether it was developing a new product or conducting a new marketing campaign.  We wanted stuff to happen so badly overnight that we were often disappointed when it didn’t.

I recall one occasion when talking to a competitor and he told me, “I’ve been trying to become an overnight sensation for the last 15 years.”

That comment has stuck with me for the last 20 years, and it even kept me going during some lean years when I thought I’d never make it.

And, I think that really sums up what we all need to be doing and thinking about, regardless of our specific roles or goals in life . . .

You want to be thinking you’ll become that overnight wonder, but you’ve got to keep carrying on with your work or your mission as if it’s a lifetime’s worth of work.

Which, I guess, it really is.

Over and out,

Michael

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