Eye2eye Personal Development Dot Com Asks Two Related Questions
January 27th, 2011
A) Are you a farmer OR an old time gold prospector?
B) How does a mouse eat an elephant?
You may think that these are strange questions to ask in a personal development context but bear with me and you`ll see where we are going with this.
Imagine if you will a farmer behind a horse drawn plough gradually working his way up and down a field. He`s ploughing straight furrows to plant the seeds of a successful harvest.
Up and down the field, no great rush to the job, working steadily but with purpose at the horse`s pace. The two of them working as a team.
At the end of each day, month and season he slowly builds on the foundations of what he has done previously. The ploughing is followed by the sowing. Next he tends the crop as it matures, protecting it now and then by weeding out harmful weeds that have sneaked into the prepared ground.
Eventually, when the time is right, the crop is harvested for the benefit of the farmer, his family and of course the horse. All of this is predictable. The farmer KNOWS that he cannot rushthe process without affecting the result that he wants, the harvest. He also knows what the outcome WILL be, BEFORE HE STARTS THE WHOLE PROCESS, providing that he applies the system consistently in the same way. He knows that if he DOES this he WILL get that.
An old style Yukon gold prospector is always convinced that the very next drill hole or exploration shaft that he investigates will be the `big one`, the paydirt that means he will never have to work again. Just like many people in their day to day lives now.
When a borehole or shaft doesn`t come up with the goods he quickly becomes disillusioned. He doesn`t have the patience or the staying power for the longer haul. He moves on to the next big thing, the next location that promises to be the pot of gold at the end of his rainbow. He does this whatever his previous experiences of dabbling in this and that has told him.
Which of these two characters do you think is likely to have a more stable and rewarding life, a more successful life?
Which of these two personalities are you most like? The one who, step by step lays the foundations, the building blocks of their success and then and ONLY then begins to grow knowing that what they build will be secure and solid?
OR the person who has no patience and no staying power. The one who listens to every piece of second-hand, `sure fire` information but then ends up with nothing of real and tangible value? This person may have the occasional good time along the way with one or two small successes but who, really, wants a life like that? Do you?
I accept that someone has to win the lottery and that some people hit paydirt but what a tiny percentage these people represent when compared to the number of successful individuals who take the longer route and begin with firm foundations.
Personal development is very much like the farmer who laid solid, real foundations before building his future. YOU are the farmer, the bricklayer of YOUR future.
Last time I asked WHO are you. This time I asked you to consider WHAT are you, a farmer or a gold prospector?
Next time we will be returning to our WHO theme but will be taking a`walk on the WILDE side`. Yes, Yes, I know I`ve spelt it `wrong` but wait and see.
See you soon.
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