One morning, I woke up very motivated, called a friend and said “Let’s go to the park to exercise!”
“That’s great news, Hector. You know I’m there every morning, I’ll see you soon!” Peter said.
I don’t know what was going on that day, but I felt like I could have run a full marathon, so I challenged my friend.
“Hey, Pete, I feel good. I bet I can beat you running this morning.” Luckily he ignored me. I was a heavy smoker and found myself in terrible physical condition.
What was I thinking?
Somehow this sudden spark of motivation made me think that giving my 100% that morning would compensate all my bad habits in a single day.
I ran and ran… and ran until my heart rate was going through the roof.
Then… reality kicked in!
I felt lightheaded, lost my vision, and I fell to the ground. I felt like the earth was moving in circles. Pete was there trying to help me.
“Should I call an ambulance? What should I do?” He asked nervously.
What was I thinking?
It was just a spark of motivation.
The next day, I felt like a car had run over me.
I gave up.
To answer your question, what important lesson has life taught you?
I’ve learned that there are no shortcuts in life.
- People who are in great physical shape deserve it. It’s not magic. They made it happen with daily decisions.
- People who are successful deserve it. Success didn’t happen by luck or overnight. They made it happen with daily decisions.
- People who find financial freedom deserve it. They fought for it through daily actions, many of which required hard work and daily sacrifice.
Today I frequently challenge my kids asking them to draw the path where their daily actions will take them.
More social media? Draw the path.
More exercise? Draw the path.
More reading? Draw the path.
What are you reading? Draw the path.
Who are your friends? Draw the path.
More partying? Draw the path.
You get the idea.
The bottom line is this: