We all like to know the deep secrets of the universe, ESPECIALLY if there’s a shortcut involved.
A headline like this really builds anticipation, right?
So, are you ready for the life-changing content the title promised you? Are you sitting down? Brace yourself. Here we go.
Amazing shortcuts to greatness… don’t exist!!!
That’s right, there are no amazing shortcuts to greatness, or anything worth your aspirations. Sure, there are those who are “”struck by lightning” or become “overnight sensations,” but the they are very few and far between and are mostly short-lived stories of too much too fast and a recipe for shipwreck. To put it simply, shortcuts short-circuit the process that makes us the real deal.
You do want to be the real deal, right?
Sure you do.
I don’t think anybody decides they want to be a fake or a sham or a pile of hype, but looking for shortcuts opens the door for you to be deluded – deluded into thinking that there is an easier way to get where you want to go, but people just don’t know about it yet. Anything worth doing, anything worth aspiring to has a price tag attached to it.
Let’s be real for a moment. The price of becoming may just be more than we want to pay. The life you desire is a series of steps. Some of those steps are bigger than others, but there is no quality life outside of the steps it takes to get there.
I used to joke with my kids when we were stuck in traffic that someone should invent a helicopter car for just such times. Feeling stuck or trapped will cause you to look for workarounds or shortcuts, and there may be some available to you. They always have a price tag, too. Usually a hidden one. Usually a big one. Usually bigger than the price of actually taking the necessary step to be the real deal.
Becoming the real deal is a recipe that includes hard work, desire, passion, hunger, resolve, and patience. It includes a commitment to a lifetime of learning, growing and becoming better all the time. It includes staying focused on doing whatever it takes to be the real deal – whatever it cost, however long it takes, no matter how many steps are involved in the process.
The next time someone tries to con you into thinking you can skip important steps, remember this illustration and chuckle to yourself:
Enjoy the steps.
Enjoy the journey.
Take joy in getting there.
No shortcuts, ok?
I have been watching re-runs of the show “Taxi”. It is fun to see the “Cheers” characters before they were famous. I am also learning what it means to be a team player. – Tom Richardson -
Good one, as usual, Mr. Allen.
I once had a piano teacher whose lesson style was very much like the horse drawing instructions in the illustration above:
1) Sit like this.
2) Look at the page.
3) Play all the notes (Mr. Genius plays a jaw-dropping concerto like nobody’s business).
I imitate. He responds after I’m in complete pain from impossible cadenzas, “No, no, no. With more expression. Don’t butcher it.”
“How?” remained the big question.
I have found that the best teachers aren’t the geniuses. Grownup child prodigies never had to struggle with technique–it all just flowed like breathing to them. On the other hand, only the teachers who ran the gauntlet themselves that Scott kindly shared above are the best equipped to train others, to give the gifts of knowledge and wisdom.
And aren’t we all about giving?
Yet another benefit of taking the correct path to greatness.
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*puns intended
I had a physics teacher in college like your piano teacher. Haha
What encoursges me is the “slow and steady” process makes things accessible to, well, me! Yes, we are individually gifted, assigned and talented, yet at the same time, taking it step by step has enabled the Lord to take me places I never thought I would (or could) go: becoming a pilot, an air traffic controller, learning French (and living abroad). And yes, going through the process enables one to explain and teach others. the short cuts are tempting when all I usually need is a good night’s sleep!
I’ve been reading Jon Acuff’s book “Quitter.” Jon speaks about the “hidden years” where we get good at our craft and develop our skills. There are no substitutes for the time God gives us to grow in our giftings and develop the maturity needed to keep us where our gifts take us. Awesome posts on shortcuts, Scott!
It took me a while to learn this. I would learn the basics of something, then I would want to jump ahead past the “boring stuff” straight to the glory…It never happens that way. An Artist must practice their art, a musician, music…And a child of God must always keep their faith sharp, just by believing for small things like a parking space. The more success we acheive via practice and taking the necessary steps, the more confidence we will gain in our ability and the process to greatness. Thanks for this very enlightening blog, Scott!