It is almost that time of year when high school and college graduations are being celebrated. Most of us know someone who is graduating: a child, grandchild, niece ornephew . This is a message we must share with each of them.The first leg of the journey is over, but now, the second leg begins. The Highway to Success lies before you. Are you ready for the trip of a lifetime? The low road takes short cuts and leads to temporary success, while the high road leads to lasting success.
What is success? Random House Webster’s College Dictionary defines success as the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like. I believe a better definition is achieving goals you set for yourself. If a goal has been set and met, that’s success.
There are many methods for becoming successful, but there are some basic common truths you must remember:
1. Be your best. That shows noble character. Success won at the cost of self respect is not success.
2. Do your best. That’s the quality of your performance. The difference between failure and success is performing a task nearly right and doing it exactly right.
3. Work hard. That’s the quantity of your performance. You see, there are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.
4. Never, never, never, never give up. That’s persistence.
Depart from Mediocrity and arrive at Excellence.
Depart from Procrastination and arrive at Action.
Depart from Incompetence and arrive at Brilliance.
Depart from Nonchalance and arrive at Commitment.
Depart from “I Can’t” and arrive at “I Can”.
I have an example of that last departure from “I can’t”. Some years ago, one of my daughters was preparing for the “Miss Florida Drill Team” competition. The contestants were traditionally seniors in high school, but she was just a junior.
After having difficulty choreographing her routine, she became frustrated. I could see what was coming and I was prepared. When she said to me, “ I can’t do this”, I told her to get the dictionary, look up the word ‘can’t’ and read it to me. She flipped the pages. When she turned to the page where the word “can’t” should have been, it was not there. I had cut the word out with a razor blade. I don’t know what was on the other side of “can’t” but whatever it was that word was gone, too.
My point was, if the word is not in the dictionary, it’s not a real word, so don’t use it anymore. She didn’t - and she went on to win the title convincingly.
It’s good to know that success isn’t by the position you reach in life; it’s measured by the obstacles you overcome. And when you’re taking the high road to success, there are pitfalls and potholes that you have to step over.
Don’t ever open the door to discouragement. If you are not finding the acceptance and success you desire today, just remember, your success story is still being written. And if by chance you fail at a task, don’t panic. Failure is a teacher - a harsh one, but the best. You learn from your mistakes. Remember, failure is not fatal, besides success lives right around the corner.Allow me to share this story. The late, great Ray Charles was able to do what few musicians could - create music that appealed to young and old, black and white, rich and poor. He successfully crossed major boundaries.
Ray Charles lost both of his parents and a brother before he was grown. He grew up in a school for the blind where he learned to play piano and sing. By the time he was a teenager, he was a hit in Central and North Florida. He and his friends believed in his talent.
In 1946, Lucky Millender, the famed band leader, brought his band to Orlando. Ray Charles managed to get an audition. What an opportunity! It was his first chance at the big time.
Charles sang and played with all his might. He gave 150 percent. Millender listened quietly. At the end of the audition Charles expected to hear praise, but all he heard was silence and finally Millender told Ray, “Kid, you ain’t good enough”. Ray could not believe his ears. He had performed with all his heart, with every fiber of his being. He couldn’t have heard right. So he asked Millender to repeat what he said. Lucky Millender said, “You heard right. You don’t got what it takes.”
Ray went back to his room, heartbroken. He cried for days. But when he had no more tears to shed, something happened on the inside. He knew he was not a quitter. He knew he had God-given talent; so he began to practice as never before. Looking back years later, Charles realized that failure was the best thing that ever happened to him. He vowed that no one would ever be able to say that about him again. And we know the rest of the story.
Never accept another’s person assessment of your talent and skill. Never let someone tell you what you cannot do. Never take shortcuts that impugn your integrity. Never step down from the high road.
