We live in a world of instantaneous success. You can locate an answer to any question you have in less than a second – you don’t even need to lift a finger, you can just ask Siri, Echo or Alexa and they’ll provide you the answer right away. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn give the glorious satisfaction that people really do like you and all the incredible things you are able to do. Insert Sally Field’s acceptance speech here. So, it isn’t expected that we assume to have instant gratification in something like a career? We put in our 40+ hours a week, do what we are told, and go above and beyond. Work. Done. Work. Not. Done.
So, why can’t we receive that promotion or become rich off of our brilliant billion dollar idea instantly? As Ashley Longshore states in the Inc. article, Take Your Time: Why You Actually Don’t Want Instant Success, “There is no deserving. There is working.” You have to take risks, make tough decisions and get uncomfortable. It’s not the easy way to achieve success but it is the right way in the long run. The thought that success should come in the form of instant gratification will leave you feeling unfulfilled and searching for more.
We have forgotten that in order to achieve real success, we have to move. Whether that is your fingers typing away at a grant request, your mouth moving and hands shaking as you network your way to the top, or your feet moving as you race business to business trying to make a sale of your homemade, natural face cream that every woman needs in their bathroom cabinet – they just don’t know it yet.
Whatever your dream or your vision of success is, remember, you do not want the instant gratification you are hoping to receive. You want the type of success that empowers, strengthens and supports you when the going gets tough – the type of success that gives you one heck of a sense of gratification when you truly get to the top.
Ashley Longshore says it right, “The reality of it is that you really have to be patient with yourself. You have to love yourself and understand that success takes time.”
For more inspiration from an entrepreneur who has put in the time, read Take Your Time: Why You Actually Don’t Want Instant Success.
