My little tip for success
This is a story about a guy who believed in perfectibility.
Grown up in the most challenging environment brainwashed that only the best can win and if you are not the best one you are no one. I did believe that.
Any tasks I have entertained, every activity, ludic or professional, I have had only one target in mind. Be the best. The best at school, the best in sports, I did commit so much in my activities that I have collected an unbelievable number of certifications about different disciplines, don’t worry I am not going to list them here.
What I perceived as a lack of understanding ( no one understand meeeee) from my family, the school, friends and workers on the fight that was occurring within me, did alienate myself to isolation. But isolation is good, because force you to listen to yourself. I have pushed myself over many boundaries, risked my life many time to a point I thought I was invincible. Some of you have evidences I am not. In 2015, I collected the last of a long list of accidents in extreme sports activities, with a record of 22 fractures in only one crash. If you are looking for an example or resilience, well you are looking at me, I am back in sport again. Other facts have occurred and concurred moving me to investigate certain aspect of life and human being. Very personal instances involving the death of momentous people to me in catastrophic circumstances, I am not prepared to share with this audience now. All of this contributed to the process of finding answers to two major questions I had.
Why I am failing to make significant changes regardless I have explored many potentials within myself.
Why I am here on this planet and what can I do to positive contribute to humanity.
I pushed myself well over any reasonable limit in everything I did and I do, but I learnt that the all the power I think I can gain and the authority I can collect is not going to make me any stronger and I will be always too weak to make any significant change in the world. I used my failures as a strength to invest energy studying and understanding what great people have done differently, how a tiny weak person managed to leave a sign in history without achieving all I did or I thought I did. Eventually I got it. And the door suddenly opened, I finally could see it and it was revealing.
The most peaceful and rewarding moment of my life. Finally, I could see the path, my path, what I really want to do, I was no more the guy who believe in perfectibility. I knew at that time perfectibility was not a status, but a temporary level, unsustainable and per se insignificant, because of no use to the community.
Peace of mind did last a second itself, no more than that. As any revelation, the knowledge come with a price. For me it was fear, a fear that is part of my life and contribute to my everyday frustration. I fear unexpressed potential.
I know now I have not enough strength to make the world to change, but what I know is that I can be the spark igniting for changes. This knowledge has driven the last ten years of my life, I have been scouting at all level for people with potential and supported them to express it, under the hope they would have done the same with someone else. Success did come as consequence, when you look for potential in people you automatically select your teammates. This is a painful process but is fair. Every day consciously or unconsciously we select people around us. Friends, sport partner and on and on. Obviously, someone is left over, but this not necessary means we do not see potential in these people, just we do not see the potential we need in that moment for that case. When I see a person with potential I do everything I can to unleash that potential, that person will start to deliver and achieve over and above any predictable expectation. I am surrounded by peers’ success and that bright light make me look as a successful leader. I see myself more as a successful human being today. I want to be a match but I can make an explosion. Success is not winning, success is contributing. Have a look to the link below, good food for thoughts. https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_are_you_a_giver_or_a_taker#t-768716
