The 800-pound gorilla -- aka The connection we're not making...

[Ankesh]

Thanks TW.

I think what you're saying has more to do with fame and less to do with success.

Taking one more step above from where you are right now:

Warren Buffet. Successful by anyone's standard. But yet - I would say 90% of the world hasn't heard about him.

Who knows the name of the President of France? of India? Of China? People staying in those countries will know the names. But people out of those countries won't. But these people have reached the highest position of success in their fields that is possible.

I would say that 80% of the world doesn't know who Allen Iverson is. Or who Tom Brady is. 60-70% of the world won't know who Sachin Tendulkar is.

Really - there are very very few people who the entire world knows about.

Even historically speaking. Besides Newton and Einstein - the lay person won't know any other scientists name. Besides Da Vinci and Picasso - the lay person won't know any painters name.

Anyways, here is a good forwarded email...

You don’t have to actually take the quiz.
Just read the email and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last ten World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care

There was a cartoon that I saw many years ago. There were 4 hobos (former entrepreneurs) sitting against a dumpster, sharing a bottle of whiskey. One suggests to the others, "Maybe we should all just get jobs"...

Then there was silence.

Finally another hobo responded, "What -- and ADMIT that we are failures?"...

I also remember an interview given by Micheal J Fox, who recalled his early days of sharing a 1 room apartment with 12 other wannabe actors, eating only macaroni and cheese for over 2 years before finally getting a long-term paying gig, enabling him to finally get his own apartment.

Or the story of Edison, who supposedly "failed" at making at light bulb 10,000 times before finally getting it right...

Knowing when to persist and when to give up or change direction is part of the crap shoot that I think Ross spoke of. Like the treasure hunter who single handedly digs for 3 weeks straight, a 90 foot deep hole. He almost gave up at the 10 foot mark... but kept going to 20. Then 30. Then 70... but gives up at 90...

and walks away.

An onlooker picks up a shovel, climbs into the same hole, and hits the treasure at the 91 foot mark...


It's part of the game -- the persistence, but doing what you can with the resources you have and making decisions based on the information and experience you have at the time.

And while you are striving, you are keeping your yes on the prize, ducking when you need to duck, picking up speed, slowing down, hiring experts for what you can't do yet on your own, researching, going new directions, making u-turns, backing up, regrouping, changing lanes... but always being driven from a place of wanting to improve, considering and knowing that every step is a success because of the gift of the lesson, the clue, the progress, or the change in perception that comes with it.

I don't know where you are at... Maybe you are in a 1 room apartment eating macaroni and cheese. Or maybe you are at the 90 foot mark in your self-dug hole, searching for your treasure.

Sometimes the success is that you strived, without being concerned of how Harry Anderson thinks of you. He may have a nice bank account, but do you know if Harry is truly happy?
As Ross kinda said, you have to do it for you. No one else but you.


Remember Richard Cory?

*****************
Richard Cory
By Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace;
In fine we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

**********************************


Is Harry a success because he made it in the "real world"? I remember reading that Elvis Presley, as a child, didn't know he was "poor" until he was in the 5th grade, when he met another kid with his own room, and his own radio.

And that bumblebees, due to the engineering of their wings and disproportionate body structure, aren't supposed to be able to fly. But they can and do, probably cause no ones ever told them otherwise.

I think someone is a "success" when they truly believe that they are... and at that point, the success will grow and it will spill into other areas of your life and as your focus and thoughts change, your words will change, your outlook and dimeanor will change, and eventually others will notice and percieve these changes, and maybe even percieve that you are successful -- and you won't seek validation.

But for what it's worth, I think you are a success. You've observed and experienced and learned something that you have shared with us, generating others to think and to share their perceptions and views and thoughts as well...

I guess I didn't express it very well -- Again, maybe because it's still foggy in my own head.

It's nothing to do with regrets -- I don't have any, thankfully.

It's nothing to do with being depressed about how the real wolrd works.

Although it does have to do with how the real world works (but not being depressed about it).

It's nothing to do with the difference between fame + success.

It has to do with my own definition of success -- AND WHAT WILL *REALLY* GET ME THERE -- and what will NOT.

The realization that doing low-level stuff DOES NOT LEAD TO HIGH LEVEL STUFF.

The low-level world, and the high level world ARE NOT CONNECTED!

Therefore, it's important to recognize the DIFFERENCE between the two worlds -- and to stay away from Low-Level Land!

It's not a stepping stone -- it's a dead end job -- in disguise.

If you MUST hang around in Low-Level Land... at SEE IT CLEARLY FOR WHAT IT IS -- AND DON'T GLORIFY IT.

Give it the DISrespect it deserves.

THAT'S my 'epihpany.'

Nothing more, nothing less.

Luckily, I'm not a regretful type of person.

Rather than get bummed out about it + cry over spilled milk, I'm GLAD that I have these new eyes, and will make the most of them moving forward.

-- TW

[GordonJ]

Originally Posted by -TW

If you MUST hang around in Low-Level Land... at SEE IT CLEARLY FOR WHAT IT IS -- AND DON'T GLORIFY IT.

Give it the DISrespect it deserves.

THAT'S my 'epihpany.'


-- TW

All the forums you regularly post to are in Low-Level Land...are you making the disconnect?

Please come back and update us once you've landed in the Big times.

OR, can you hang out in low-level land, give it the disrespect it deserves at the same time you are preparing to escape it? I don't know, just asking. I'll guess time will tell us what choice you've made.

Good luck TW,

gjabiz

PS. No response required.

I'm going with option #2...

Hang out in low-level land, give it the disrespect it deserves at the same time you are preparing to escape it.

As I keep saying, there's NOTHING wrong with Low-Level Land, or being IN it -- so long as I realize that's what it is, and put in its proper perspective.

It's the eyes open, not shut, that counts.

Cheers!

-- TW

America is one of the few places on earth where a person CAN change their socio-economic status within their lifetime.

And they can do it, basically, under their own control.

They can decide to do it, and then do it!

But... part of that equation is: They must (first?) develop the ability to clearly see what WILL propel them upwards, and what will NOT.

My point was that it's NOT really a spectrum. There's an EMPTY SPACE between Low-Level Land and REAL SUCCESS (read: majorly big bucks).

Doing low-level stuff does not lead to the big time. Doing LOTS of low-level stuff probably won't even TOTAL big time level success.

The two worlds are NOT connected, naturally/organicly/normally.

The key, I feel (to take advantage of the American opportunity), is to find 'worm holes' that can/do CONNECT the two worlds.

Such bridges do exist, or can be engineered.

THAT'S the real stepping stone to real (major) success.

The goal is not to toil in Low-Level Land (as a way of 'paying one's dues') -- the main goal should be to seek out EXIT DOORS + ESCAPE Low-Level Land as soon as possible.

That's why I listed 3 such exit doors.

Think 'The Matrix' and illusion is reality and vice versa -- and the rining telephone that enables one to EXIT The Matrix (which seems like reality, but which is FALSE).

I hope this is making sense.

It's making sense to me at least.

Cheers!

-- TW

Called, "Blueprints for escaping Low-Level Land."

People could post their adventures in trying to escape -- and (hopefully) their successes in doing so.

It'd be a forum for people with that SPECIFIC goal in mind, as "Job 1."

-- TW

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by -TW

America is one of the few places on earth where a person CAN change their socio-economic status within their lifetime.

And they can do it, basically, under their own control.

They can decide to do it, and then do it!

But... part of that equation is: They must (first?) develop the ability to clearly see what WILL propel them upwards, and what will NOT.

My point was that it's NOT really a spectrum. There's an EMPTY SPACE between Low-Level Land and REAL SUCCESS (read: majorly big bucks).

Doing low-level stuff does not lead to the big time. Doing LOTS of low-level stuff probably won't even TOTAL big time level success.

Hi TW,

What you wrote made me think of what's been called the "Up Series" of documentary movies...

This is a remarkable series - I highly recommend it! The first program was called "7 Up". They took a bunch of British school kids, who were age 7 in 1964, and interviewed them. The kids were chosen to be from a wide range of socio-economic classes - from the very poor (e.g. kids in an orphanage) to the very rich. One of the guys behind this program was a young Michael Apted (who has gone on to direct films like "Gorillas in the Mist", and the James Bond film, "The World is Not Enough").

What's remarkable is, 7 years later, when the kids were age 14, they went and did a followup program.

Then another, and another... when the "kids" were aged 21, 28, 35, 42, and the latest installment is these individuals at age 49 !

You get the see the "life trajectory" of these individuals! That in itself is remarkable... But...

Given what we're usually interested in on this forum, there's one guy I think who's worth pondering over who is "followed" in this series of documentaries...

That's Tony.

Tony was a poor kid from the East End of London - a poor area with a high crime rate. But, since he was a kid, he had a bit of a "go getter" attitude about him... He dreamed of being a jockey.

Tony did become a jockey for a short time. By age 21, he was working as a runner for a bookie. The director, Michael Apted, apparently later confessed (to Roger Ebert) that he thought Tony would end up becoming a criminal.

However, it turned out that by age 28 Tony had become a taxi driver, owning his own taxi. By age 49, he now owns 3 homes, including a holiday home in Spain.

While that may not be fabulously wealthy, that is quite comfortable!

Anyway, it's a good series of movies... More info here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_series

You'll be amazed when you see the trajectory of these people's lives (both good and bad)...

Best wishes,

Dien

I saw a documentary in the UK about the "Millionaire Mind."

They made the point that the millionaire mind is almost identical to the criminal mind, in many ways.

I believe that is true.

Cheers!

-- TW

cant pass this up ...since I have ben through the same DISfunction ....and being age 48 may have something to do with it ..sinc eyou can see .or imagine, the ENd is in sight...and yu wonde rIF you have used your talents that were given you to the fullest...
and

I can tell you without even knowing you , that NO you havent....I know of no one who can tell you that honestly ....I am thinking that you are rating YOURself according to some one else's staNDARDS....and you wont be happy or content with yourself until you judge them by your standards or in my case , my faith's standards.

and then you can see what you really are and have been and could have been and all those things....and maybe stay up late at night worrying about the failures ..or whatevers...or

you can set your sights onto a more GIVING goal...towards the world, your neighbors, and yourself...I have found myself most satified when I have given ...and not been GRADED per se...if that makes any sense to you ...

I agree with Ankeesh's response about the really important people in your life...and , believe it or not, YOU are on some one's list as that person ...even if you do not know it....

how many people go back and thank their theird grade teacher for ________( fill int he blank) very few, I tried , but she had died. so you are some ONE"S hero ..today ....now ....and that should make you feel pretty good.

having experienced a semblense of wealth , and poverty ...I can tell you that the only difference, other than the obvious, is the PEOPLE....the folks who have helped me and the folks I have attempted to help

so , I would recommend you be grateful for today ...enjoy yourself responsibly , and finally , find someone you can help or mentor ...or go to the local stewpot and serve others...

so much for my ranting....

thanks