I needed a job really bad. I called one of my friends and asked if there were any job openings at his company. He said yes, and I applied and got the job.
There was one big problem.
The location of the company was so far away from where I lived, and I did not have a car. So, I called a relative who lived closer to my new job and asked if I could stay with them. They said yes, and I moved from my apartment to their house.
There was another big problem.
Even though my relative lived closer to my new job, it still was not close enough. There was no bus that traveled to the location of the job. I did not have a car or bike. I had to be there at 4:00 A.M. and no one was willing to give me a ride to work. Would you that early in the morning?
I was desperate, so I decided to get up at 2:45 A.M. and walk several miles. It was dark, cold, and I was afraid of what could happen to me. I didn’t have a cell phone to call someone if something happened. I was literally walking by faith, hoping God would protect me.
As I walked the dark streets in the cold, I imagined myself being greater than my circumstances. I told myself that I was “colder than the cold”! This was not the time to turn back. My family was not wealthy and neither were my friends. I did not have any connections to people in high places. There was no one I could call for help. I had to do this several times before I could save enough money to buy a bike and then a car. During that time, I recognized if I wanted to get what I never had, I had to do what I had never done. I had to want success more than anything. I was willing to do whatever I had to do to get to where I wanted to be.
One morning I was walking and, for some reason, the owner of the company decided to go into the office early. Normally, he would not have arrived until four hours later. But, this time, he decided to drive to work early, and he saw me walking. He pulled over and gave me a ride. He was so moved by my determination to succeed that he loaned me one of his cars, until I got one of my own. I was shocked and grateful! He shared his story about when he was starting his business and he didn’t have a car. He told me how he wanted to succeed so bad and that he gave all of his energy to accomplish his goal. No matter how difficult things were, he wouldn’t let the difficulties derail him. He wanted to succeed more.
Eventually, I purchased a car and moved on to bigger opportunities. But I learned some life-changing lessons from the experience. The biggest takeaway is you have to want your success more than your greatest obstacle. You will face challenges in life that may seem insurmountable or you don’t have all the answers to overcome, but you have to want to succeed more. No matter how hard things are, whether you have very little support, you have to want to succeed more. Don’t make excuses. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. One day your hard work will pay off.
Take your cues from me and live a great life. NEXCUE!
