man-taking-the-garbage-out

“Are you willing to take out the garbage?” is another way of saying are you willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. The difference between Dreamers and Achievers is the willingness to take Effective Action that produces the Desired Result. I’m frequently amazed by how many people confuse Activity/Busyness with Results/Achievement and how much Activity is not truly purposeful i.e. Intelligently designed and thought out to get to the Desired Result as quickly and efficiently as possible.

To get what you want you often have to do a lot of things that you particularly don’t want to have to do or enjoying doing. That’s life. Over time you either learn to enjoy them or you find alternate routes or you decide the goal is not worth the investment. But it is a rare goal that is truly worthwhile that does not involve some form of routine or even drudgery. Keep your mind’s eye on the mountain top and the narrows of the path to the top are much easier to bear. 

A second aspect of being willing to take out the garbage lies in being a Team Player. Team Players jump on whatever needs to be done whenever they see a chance to help the team. Yes, we should all attempt to work at our highest leverage point, those with the greatest skills applying them where those skills can be most effective. At the same time, it is also important that even the greatest remain humble, eschewing a particular task not because they are in any way above it but rather only because their talents are better utilized elsewhere. 

Closing Quote:

 “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” – Kobe Bryant

As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier