You can’t have it both ways. Either you want convenience and comfort, or you want greatness.
This is where you have to be honest with yourself. Are you willing to pay the price of achieving your biggest goals? You have to decide. You can’t have both because convenience and greatness don’t mix.
The road to the penthouse goes through the dump. Of course there’s a road to the top, and you’re free to travel it. But it doesn’t go straight to the top. There are a lot of inconvenient, unpredictable delays and detours you’ll endure along the way. No one gets there as fast as they want. Everyone endures struggles along the way. Everyone has long periods of challenge and testing, wondering if they’re good enough, wondering if they’ll ever get there. It’s the price of greatness.
The reason there is so much room at the top is because most people lie to themselves.
They say they want to do great things, but their actions tell you the truth… they would rather have their comforts, their ease. They don’t really want to pay the price.
We see this all the time in business. New people come in and announce to one and all how bad they want to do it big. They want to be special. They want to do great things. They are hungry for all the best in life, and are willing to pay whatever price it takes to get there. That’s what they say—new entrepreneurs especially.
Eventually the talking stops and it’s time to get started. You tell them the next step. There’s a meeting, there are things they need to do, there are deadlines they need to hit. They start asking for exceptions and exemptions. Now you start to see the truth.
These same people who just told you how desperately they want to change their lives are now ducking out of the hard work of making it happen. They always have an excuse. They ask endless questions but never do anything. They are delusional. And if you have them on your team, they become disruptive time wasters.
People who do great things find a way to get things done—even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable.
They adapt, they cooperate, they find out what’s necessary, and then do a little extra. Whatever demands are placed on them, they meet.
But most won’t do that. They turn out to be nothing more than fragile flowers who crumple, fade and die the first time they’re challenged. They don’t fail because they aren’t good enough, they fail because they don’t really want it bad enough to be inconvenienced.
If you’re willing to pay the price, there’s a penthouse waiting for you. It won’t be convenient, but it will be great—and more than worth the price it took to get there.
