Today's Business Lessons
I want to be like you
A father had a conversation with his son.
Father: How are your studies, son?
Son: Chicken, daddy. Chicken.
Father: How are your subjects? Do you find them hard?
Son: Chicken, daddy. Chicken.
Upon receiving the report card…
Father: What happened to your grades, son?
Son: Itlog, daddy. Itlog.
Success in life does not come to us automatically.
If everything is chicken, then what we get is an egg!
I frequently meet people who approach me and tell me that they want
to do what I do. Many of these people are young, idealistic, and
sincere. Sometimes they approach me after a talk. Most other times they
send me a message through instagram, twitter, or facebook. They are very polite, and I thank them for their kindness.
I am used to these sentiments. Not every speaker is deserving of an
audience, and I take it as a compliment when people tell me that they,
too, want to be speakers. But my thought process goes this way: Most of
these people want to do what I do, but are they willing to go through
what I have?
Just recently, an audience member came to me after a talk
and said, “Francis, I want to be like you.”
I smiled and said, “Thank you.”
But at the back of my mind I thought, “Do you know what you’re
talking about? Would you still want to be like me when you have to
experience the tons of work I do to improve myself; when you have to
read several volumes of books; when you have to fail multiple times in
order to learn; when you have to fight a number of battles in order to
stand for righteousness; and when you have to withstand the amount of
personal attacks and criticisms I get from those who have dissenting
opinions?”
Others tell me they just want to hang out with me for a few weeks,
drive my car, carry my briefcase, and accompany me to my talks and
trainings. To that I say, “You would not want to do that. My life is
extremely structured; hence, it is boring.
“When I wake up in the morning, I start with my quiet time: I pray
and meditate on Scriptures to build my inner strength. Then I post stuff
on social media, read books, listen to audio materials, and go out and
do my thing. I can assure you it is not exciting. It is repetitive. It
might even be boring for you.”
Most people do not understand. What they see is the excitement of
giving talks, engaging the audience, inspiring them to become
better, and in the end, improving lives and businesses. All these happen
in the foreground. They do not see the process of putting all of these
things together to make the presentation work.
Drawing a crowd, speaking to thousands, writing books, maintaining a
business column, doing a Monday to Friday radio segment for the last 19
years and reaching out to still more people through social media—all
these look glamorous and exciting, but they are simply the fruits of
doing hard work and investing in education.
A very recent inquiry goes this way:
“I have been invited to check your page. I like it and I want to be a
motivational leader and speaker like you. May I know how to be like
you? Is there a way to be like you without spending money for training
and seminars? Looking forward to hearing from your end.”
Here is my response:
“Thanks for asking. You first have to be excellent at something that
is marketable – something that serves a need. You have to spend a
fortune on books, audio materials, training, and seminars. See to it
that you learn from personal experience (both success and failure) and
from all kinds of people.
“Personally, I have enrolled in courses in Oxford University, Harvard
Continuing Educational Program, and New York Business Leaders Forum. I
have attended thousands of seminars in my lifetime. I faithfully jot
down all the nuggets of wisdom I hear from sermons every Sunday. That’s
how I have built myself through the years. Content is king. Delivery is
queen. Experience is the heartbeat, and character is the soul. In my
opinion, there is no other way. I hope this helps.”
I never heard from the person again.
There is no shortcut to success. The road to accomplishment is a long and difficult one.
If success comes easy, and it’s “chicken feed,” then all you will end up getting is itlog.
The process is always more important than the success.
No comments:
Post a Comment