Ahhhhh welcome to the blogcast!
We want to make sure that we are producing content at a rate that will keep everybody entertained when you decide that this is the show that you want to listen to. Our blog is meant to give an extension of our show that will provide an added material that you can consume in your spare time. This will not be limited to anything other than the thoughts that are in my head as I sit down at my laptop and will be added to our webpage whenever I have the itch to feed your desire.
Today’s topic will be in regards to the ideology behind never giving up, never quitting. The type of mindset often found within successful people. This is something that I could go the obvious route with our show and talk about sports. I could give you my opinions about Michael Jordan or talk to the mamba mentality. As easy of a bridge as that gives me, I would like to speak on a more personal level with you. For one, not only is this seen with heroes that are publicized overtly with posters on the walls of millions of people around the world. There are individual heroes and influencers in the lives of everyday men and women that you will never see on the news. Unspoken or unheard of heroes that help shape the lives of you and me.
I for example, have a man that was a former boss of mine who was beyond “the guy” that I worked for. He was not only my boss. He was my leader, my hero. He took me from a place where I was a 20 year old kid with no realistic ambition to figure out a path for myself, and molded me through years of guidance and leadership into the man I am today. I had been told from my teenage years until I began working with this man that I had no skills. I should join the military and learn something because what I had couldn’t translate to a life worth any semblance of success. I didn’t even know that I needed someone who had a different opinion about me. I was a happy kid at that time, regardless of my lack of motivation to figure out a career. I worked for this man for a few months, and as most people do, I didn’t feel any differently or experience some sort of existential growth right from the start. But after standing out above the rest as someone who was willing to do whatever it took to be better than the rest of what for all intents and purposes was my “competition” and landing the job, he began observing me as someone who he may be able to form into his image.
I know that sounds somewhat absurd, and that I just formed him into a cult leader. But for anyone who has owned their own business, or for that matter that manages a business, there is a greater feeling of satisfaction from seeing your work pay off in the form of your protiges success than there is seeing it within your own. It was only a matter of time before he realized that I would be his success story and began showing me everything he knew. This was seven and a half year process that was filled with small steps. He did ever push me to do things that I was not yet capable of. He took his time with me. Promotion by promotion, I would learn new things. I would gain new experiences until the point that I had become more able than my peers who were often times 20-40 years my senior. He saw in me what he saw in himself. I didn’t have “quit” in me. I wouldn’t back away from any challenge. Hell, without him I may not be writing this now and testing my skills in a new setting for others to see. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I’ve kept anything I’ve ever put down on legal pad to myself as I never wanted to make myself vulnerable for others to see things that go through my mind to the canyons of extent that this platform creates. I ended up going from a 20 year old kid that had no plan and was working on a seasonal retail team, to a store manager who not only made enough money to support myself, but to support the life that I wanted to build. I didn’t get much of an opportunity to go to college as a child with no parents to fund me. I needed the spark from someone looking out for my best interest, simply by seeing that I had the drive and commitment to be the best I could be. And for that I will be always grateful.
If there are any of you out there in a position where you have already created your own success, take time to consider those who you may be able to be a mentor to and enable them to bring out the best of their abilities. You may surprise yourself not only in how much satisfaction you will gain from realizing someone else’s potential, but in how abundant your satisfaction is with knowing that you have that leadership ability.
Until next time,
Colby
Jacked and Canned