Give Some Credit to the Journey
Ten years ago, Kane Brown was the winner of his high school talent show. He impressed the audience by singing a cover of a song by country music artist Chris Young.
What a difference a decade makes.
Last week, Kane Brown took the stage again, but this time it was alongside Chris Young at the Country Music Awards. Their duet “Famous Friends” was nominated for Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. In an interview, Brown reflected on this full-circle moment, and how proud he felt to have finally “made it” in country music. From his high school talent show all the way to the CMAs, he had finally realized his dream of becoming a chart-topping star.
But it took ten years to get there.
My friend Matt is selling his company in December. On the day of the closing, he will receive a large deposit of money into his checking account— a dollar amount that represents decades of risk-taking that will finally pay off. He invested his life into his business. He took chances that a non-entrepreneur never would have dared to. In his younger years, Matt dreamed of building a wildly successful company. He wanted to earn a better-than-decent living to provide a great life for his family. He wanted to be the man that his wife and baby girl would be proud of. He worked so hard. Matt also took great care of his employees along the way. And like every entrepreneur, he hoped one day he would sell his company for a meaningful sum of money. Last month there was a bidding war. Matt found himself in a dream scenario: four different suitors were all trying to buy his business. That’s when Matt realized he had “made it.” His dream was finally coming true.
But it took twenty years to get there.
When you hear stories of success, are you immediately happy for the people? Do you get excited for their achievements? Or do you find yourself in the more common scenario of judging them? Maybe you’re judging them against where you happen to be right now in your life?
Let’s be honest.
We’ve all found ourselves hearing a story of someone’s success and responding with, “It must be nice to be him.” When we make a sarcastic statement like that, we are giving zero credit to the hard work, struggles and stress that person had to endure to get to where they are now. It’s easy to make assessments of the people who’ve “made it.” It’s easy to be judgmental, maybe even jealous. That’s understandable.
Rarely do we pause, look at the bigger picture, and give people credit for their journey.
I watched an interview on Sunday between Adele and Oprah. (You know you’ve “made it” when the world knows you by only your first name.) In their conversation, Adele shared candidly about her very personal struggles over the past three years, and how she also lost 100 pounds during that time. I commented to a friend how impressed I was with Adele’s recent focus on her health and well-being. My friend’s immediate reaction was: “If I had Adele’s money, and a personal trainer five days a week, and a chef to prepare all my meals, I’d look like that too. Can you imagine how nice it must be to be Adele?” My friend missed my point. She did that thing we often tend to do: judge the final outcome, but not give any credit to the journey.
Sure, it must be comforting to be as financially secure as Adele, and not have to worry about money when going through a painful divorce. It also must have been nice to be Kane Brown walking the red carpet last week, winning awards, and watching as his songs climb to the top of the music charts. But his journey also included being homeless, living in a car, and trying to make it in the country music industry as a black artist. His experience along the way—his journey— was more than just the glitz and glam we see now.
I talked to Matt this morning on my drive into work. He will be the first to tell you that it’s pretty nice to be him. But that’s because his perspective is one of complete gratitude. Over the past week, he has had a chance to decompress and really reflect on his journey. That reflection prompted him to reach out to some people he owed a thank-you to. He also reached out to some people to apologize. Matt shared candidly that there were a few colleagues, vendors, and friends he was pretty demanding of during the stressful moments in his journey. He reached out to all of them to humbly apologize. He wanted them to know what an important role they played in his company’s success, and that he was sorry for ever treating them less than the awesome people they are.
Next time you see someone on television being awarded for their success, or read about someone’s good fortune online and think, “It must be nice to be him,” try instead to give some credit to their journey.
While you’re at it, consider your own journey. Maybe give yourself more credit. Look at where you are, how far you’ve come, and remind yourself of your own awesomeness.
This Week’s Resources
How Do I Change the Filter in my Refrigerator?
Have you found yourself wondering how to change the clock on your microwave, or how to fix that musty smell in your washing machine, but don’t have the manual for your old appliance anymore? No worries! You can go to ManualsLib— it’s an online library of more than 5 million manuals! Problem solved by clicking here: https://www.manualslib.com/
One Night Only
If you were not able to tune into the Adele concert on Sunday night, I highly recommend it. Her talent at age 30 is undeniable. Put her and her vocal skills on stage at the Griffith Observatory in LA— one of the most spectacular concert venues ever— then add an A+ list of guests and a few surprises… I promise you’ll be singing along. You can find it on CBS and YouTube.
My Typing Skills are not that Good
I have a lot of skills, but typing is not one of them. How about you? Do you find your typing skills lagging? Want to get better at it? Go to TypeRacer and practice typing while you “race” against others in an effort to improve your skills. https://play.typeracer.com/
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