Working to be Exceptional

Working to be Exceptional

I have an almost 16-year old grandnephew who is training and competing in the hopes of one day becoming an Olympic skier. He was out in Colorado over the weekend competing against the very best skiers this country has to offer. Last year, Zach and his mother flew to Russia to compete in a youth version of the Winter Olympics.

I must confess…I know absolutely nothing about skiing. I have never been on a pair of skis. I have no desire to ever be on a pair of skis. I have never watched Zach ski in person, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t value his hard work.

At family gatherings, when Zach and his older brother, Josh, were much younger; the family would all be “invited out to the driveway” to watch the two of them perform death-defying leaps and jumps off boards and ramps built with wood and stone. My family can attest to my cringing at the sight of them in mid-air…me praying that they wouldn’t land on their heads, or worse yet…their faces. I have watched them fly at break-neck speeds on backyard zip-lines. I have watched them summersault on a trampoline at summer picnics…not content to just bounce up and down like the rest of us. And there was me on the sidelines; praying the whole time and scared out of my wits for their safety.

Over the past several years, I have overheard my niece and nephew talk about taking Zach to this camp, or that camp. I have listened to them relay stories of the countless hours Zach devotes to his sport. I have watched dozens of videos and seen hundreds of photos of ski trips to exotic locations.  I have listened to countless examples of Zach giving up his leisure time to devote to trying to better himself in a sport he loves.

His devotion is starting to pay off. He has paid his dues and his hard work is getting the attention of agents and sponsors. Who knows…perhaps one day I will watch him on television as he competes in the Olympics?

Zach has certainly been blessed with some God-given ability. He has also been blessed with devoted parents, who have the financial wherewithal to help him achieve his dreams. But there is a lot more to his success story than just being lucky.

Watching Zach grow up has sort of given me an interesting perspective. For the vast majority of us, we just see the finished product of someone who becomes successful at something. Whether it is sports, or the entertainment business, the medical field, or a business career…we watch them on television or the big screen, work for them, or are operated on by them…but we have no idea at the cost they paid to be great at what they do.

Sadly, a certain mindset has settled upon a large portion of our population that says that if a person has become successful; that success has come at the expense of someone else.  This class envy thinking is being pushed on the young and the poor with the faulty logic, that in America, only a certain number of us can be doctors, lawyers, entertainers, athletes …that in order for you to do what you want for a living…someone else has to be cheated.

All of us in the real estate business (and anyone successful in any profession) know that if you want to make a living, you have get up off your butt and go out and do it. No one is going to hand you anything. If you don’t sell something, there is no magic fairy at the end of the month to make up for your shortfall. If we observe the top agents in our market or in our office and think they got to be that good by being lucky, we are cheating ourselves.

Anytime we allow someone to think that the path to success is easy, or rigged against them…we are doing them a great disservice. Worse yet, we are doing our country a disservice.

What Zach is learning at 16, I wish everyone in this country would take to heart…if you want to learn to land on your feet, you have learn to get back up after falling.

Zach, go chase your dreams!