The journey to success. Ah, what a marvelous journey it is. Ups and downs, wins and losses, a little here, a little there.
Now, I suspect you’re saying to yourself, “Self, is Jess about to take us on another ‘woe is me’ journey?” I say to yourself, “Self, shut up and buckle up, this may be a bumpy ride.”
Throughout the various stages of life, we all encounter the desire, nay the hunger, for success. Not only do we strive for this unequivocal greatness, we want to be the best at it. There are times we stand in front of the bathroom mirror, grab our sweet little mug of a face, and sternly proclaim, “Damnit woman! You’re going to do whatever it takes to get what you want.”
Let us not kid ourselves into thinking that success is a given. That it was quite possibly written into our cards as a fancy little package, tied up with ribbons, sprinkled with glitter, and is to be handed to us on the most silver of silver platters. Success is achieved, plain and simple. What we’re willing to sacrifice compromise do to obtain the Almighty Self-Assured Success in our chosen field of dreams, differs from one to the next…dramatically.
1. Hard work. I know some hard. workin’. womens. They grease up the elbows, roll up them jeans, and sweat at the brow to excel. There’s nothing to condemn in a person willing to achieve success the “old fashioned way".
2. Trade. Trade is my second favorite way of reaching personal goals. Good, clean, fair, trade. I need to achieve X and you need to obtain Y. I have greater access to Y and you have an in with X. Let’s grab coffee shall we?
3. The Bang. The you-have-what-I-want-and-I-have-a-lady-cave journey. I’ve witnessed this a ton in my music industry days and it is never, ever fun for the she-tunnel presenter. I mean, typically, it just so happens to be a female striving for success in an industry, working the whole male-anatomy-in-my-favor approach. To each their own, but, personally, I have rarely seen success from this particular approach…only crabs and/or Ghonnosyphillaids.
4. The Free Ride. Not to be confused with The Bang. (See that epic play on words?!) The Free Ride is where you offer a service you possess that will greatly benefit the other party in exchange for the empty promise of “when we’re able to”. I highly suggest never, ever, EVER, giving away your services, no matter what they may be, without instant reciprocation. That is sort of common sense right? I always see a lack, or inexistence, of credit in this case too. Someone of great value, does every step of legwork at the request of someone in need, and that seemingly helpless being acknowledges not a whisper of props for the person who assisted, if not fully attributed, their success.
5. The Intimidator. I’m sure all of us in the blogging world have, at one point or another, encountered some version of The Intimidator. That person who is so high, so mighty, so elite, that if you even *think* about trying to progress beyond their glory… While highly effective (read: I wouldn’t touch lunatics like this with a ten-foot pole wrapped in barbed wire), this type of scare tactic, leaves you both recognized and feared. I, personally, can’t manage a wink of sleep knowing that there may be someone, somewhere, that is upset at or terrified of me. Me? Little old, down-for-the-chuckle me?! Nah!
In essence, success is success, no matter the means of achievement.
The reality? True success is honestly earned and infinitely deserved.
