One of my favourite podcasts is “The School Of Greatness”, by Lewis Howes. He interviews business leaders, authors, motivational speakers, and sports professionals and gets them to open up in ways they never have before.
Towards the end of his interviews, he always asks the guest an extremely thought-provoking question.
“You have lived to 200, and are now about to cross over to the other side, unfortunately, all your interviews and books about your life have been wiped out, you need to provide the next generation with 3 lessons to live by and continue to pass down. What would they be”
In this post, I will share 3 lessons that I hold true and would want to be passed down through the generations to come.
- Continue to show up
There is a saying, some people quit due to slow progress, forgetting that slow progress is still progress.
My life has been a testament of just continuing to show up, nothing was handed or came easy. Growing up I was far from the most academically gifted but I recognised the power of slow progress, compounding plus I was naturally competitive. I always felt as long as I continue to show up and give my best, things would get better, and even when things get bad as long as I don’t quit, I can turn things around. I’m prepared to out suffer most people. This mindset led me from the lower sets to the top middle/top set by the time we got into year 11, and as time went on I outperformed a lot of people that were ‘deemed’ smarter than me.
If you met me in 2007 you would be shocked at how skinny I was, I remember being laughed at trying to lift some weights at my friend’s house. I committed to the gym life, it wasn’t easy but eventually, I got the size and the power that I wanted.
This lesson has also been true for my career journey, I wasn’t blessed with a graduate position at an investment bank or one of the top 4 consultancies. My career took the scenic route, at times I had no idea how I would turn things around, but through commitment and giving my best regardless of the role/position, the vision I had for myself is slowly coming to fruition.
Lastly, it’s even been true in regards to my character, for a long time it felt like I had one foot in and one foot out. I have fallen short SO MANY TIMES, which has led me to question my worthiness but I’ve continued to do the work and I now feel like I’m in a place where my character is in alignment with the man I’m trying to be.
Focus on planting and watering the seeds, the rest will happen in its own time. You won’t control the time, but it will happen.
- The more you give, the more you get
The more you give, the more you will be blessed with, cliche, I know but true nonetheless. The more time you invest in your craft the better you will become. The more people you help the greater the gifts you’ll receive. Some may not agree with my next statements, but I believe the blessings I’m receiving now are because of how much I have given back in the form of time, resources, and financial support. I’ve never had a stingy mindset, I have always tried to help and give where I can and have been blessed 10 fold as a result.
The problem is we want to control how it comes back to us. But sometimes it’s not in the way we want or expect. For example, I once lent a friend some money, they decided not to pay back, I was mad at the time however over the years I realised I got more back from that situation than the money I gave him. That experience taught me a lesson that was worth 10 times what I gave him, had I not experienced that situation at that point in time, it could have happened at a later point in life and perhaps at a more damaging amount. Plus it removed someone from my life that didn’t need to be there, and that’s priceless.
- You’re running your own race
If you know me, you know that this lesson is rich coming from me, some would call me Mr Competition. But the reality is I’m not, I’m more someone that seeks inspiration to spur me on. There is a saying, If you surround yourself with the people you’re trying to be like, you will naturally become one of them.
There was a period I used to keep a mental note of where I was in life in comparison to others but as I’ve grown older I have seen how pointless it is. We all have our own story to write, and things happen in different seasons for us all if your friends seem to be ahead, be happy for them, and trust your time is coming. If you have friends behind you, encourage them, their wins won’t affect you.
Seek inwardly, understand what you want to achieve, and strive to be better than your past self that’s the only competition necessary.
Let me know what 3 lessons you would pass down?