Most people are familiar with the fairy tale of Snow White. In this story, her beautiful, yet vain stepmother queen had a magic mirror, which could answer the questions that the queen asked of it. Of course, the most well-known question that she would ask was, "Mirror, mirror upon the wall, who is the fairest of all?" Initially, the mirror would tell her that she was. However, as time went on Snow White became more beautiful and the mirror began to answer that she was more beautiful than the queen. At this point the jealous queen became furious and wanted to kill Snow White.
How does this story relate to you? Success is a never-ending pursuit. You must embrace the fact that as good as you might be today, eventually someone will come along who is a little bit better. They might be smarter, more experienced, better qualified, more creative, bigger network, etc. Regardless, if you aren't continually getting better, your success will eventually come to an end. The moment you think that you have “arrived” (i.e., “I’m the best and can’t get any better.”) is the moment that you start to decline.
Corporations often learn this the hard way. Many companies that existed 10 or 20 years ago are not around today. The fact is a lot of them had their customers taken by start-up businesses they overlooked or dismissed as insignificant. Furthermore, many that exist today have had to drastically change their business models to stay competitive in the marketplace.
Successful people are proactive. They don’t wait until they are threatened by their competition to start focusing on getting better. By then it could be too late.
Successful people engage in a continuous improvement lifestyle. They view their past and present experiences as building blocks not a plateau. They understand that if they want to sustain their success, they don't have time to rest on yesterday's achievements or today's accolades.
The world around you is not stagnant, so you can’t afford to be stagnant in terms of developing your skills, enhancing your experience, and building your network. Every day you must be willing to look in the mirror to assess the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Acknowledge the truth. Identify your needs. Then go to work on yourself.
The pursuit of personal and professional development is a race that never ends. As the African proverb states, "… It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running!"
Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.
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