I’m guilty.

I have chased the shiny objects.

I have tried to take the shortcuts to success.

But I’m also grateful for I didn’t become a success while doing those things.

Because if I did, I’d be sitting on a throne I don’t deserve.

I would have developed a huge ego based on false parameters. I would have messed up my life because I wouldn’t know how to command myself.

Now, I’m not looking for a throne to sit on. I’m out there traveling my journey and sharing the lessons with you.

Show Me Your Battle Scars

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” — Kahlil Gibran

Don’t tell me how successful you are, how much money you make or how much you have achieved in life. Because those things don’t matter unless you show me your battle scars.

Battle scars are the measure of your character, strength, and grit. Without the scars, one may succeed, one may make a lot of money, but I’m not sure if they can do it all over again or achieve success in other areas of their lives.

People get lucky all the time or they take the “shortcuts” to success. They wear a badge of honor, but if you ask them, they are afraid of losing their success because they lack self-confidence.

Why?

Because they haven’t gained the skills needed to be successful.

Because they aren’t sure of their ability to replicate the success from scratch.

But if you show me your battle scars, I know you’re dangerous.

You have gone through the process. You have built the character, and the strength needed to overcome anything.

Are You Confident For The Wrong Reasons?

As long as you keep going, you’ll keep getting better. And as you get better, you gain more confidence. That alone is success. — Tamara Taylor

Stop being confident based on what you have achieved or how much resources you have.

Your achievements, entitlements, and resources can end in a second. If you’re confident based on those, you’re doomed.

Base your confidence on how much you can endure failures, mistakes, and rejections.

If you do that, you know there’s nothing that can stop you. It’s either death or success.

Can you endure the pain?

Can you embrace the struggle?

Or do you always need instant gratification to continue doing what you’re doing?

You can almost guarantee success if you trust your ability to endure.

Today, anyone can gather the right resources because it’s all there on the internet. The secrets are no longer secrets.

Your ability to figure things out is not anymore dependent purely on the information you consume.

It’s those who take the time to master their skills, take the risks to use their creativity, and learn to endure the hard times are the ones that last.

The Feast And The Famine

You must give to get, You must sow the seed, before you can reap the harvest. — Scott Reed

The feast and the famine are referred to the time of feeding and the time of scarcity of food.

The same principle applies to your life. The “famine” is the time of struggle. It’s when you get your hands dirty.

Most people waste their time during the famine period. They spend their time in distractions. They don’t respect the cycle. They want to have everything now.

Then there are people who know that famine is the time to plant the seeds. In other words, they wisely spend their time investing in the future, even if it means sacrificing present pleasures.

Look, I’m not here to tell you that you need to “hustle, hustle, hustle” until you drop dead. You do need your rest and recovery for better performance and functioning. But famine is not the time to sit on your butt, blame or complain.

Do you respect the famine? Or do you resent it?

Are you planting the seeds? Or are you hoping someone will plant the seeds for you?

What you do during the period of famine determines what you’ll reap during the feed. If you did the work, you’d get a beautiful garden full of fresh food.

In your version of the story, it’s the time when you can stop visualizing and open your eyes to see what you had dreamt of.

When you go through this cycle once, you fall in love with the process. So you keep on planting more seeds to expand your garden and keep reaping the rewards as well. Feast and famine become one and you get out of the survival (or scarcity) mode.

The period of famine is a test. Those who fall in love with the process are the ones who integrate the feast and famine cycle into one.

Are You Showing Up?

Every day, you have the opportunity to a) show up to the battleground and b) plant the seeds.

The seeds could mean giving, learning skills, gaining knowledge, learning through doing and failing, etc.

Show me your seeds and I will tell you what you will feast on.

In the same way, every day is a battle.

When you show up in the battle, you either get a battle scar or you win. Either way, you proceed. The only way you lose is when you stop showing up in the battle.

Show me your battle scars and I will tell your character and strength.

Success is a result of daily actions…