Commentary “Think and Grow Rich”
Success is something that everyone dreams of achieving. But, one thing that makes it so hard to achieve is that it’s so hard to define. It’s so subjective. My successes won’t be the same as yours. There’s also so many types of successes. Physical. Mental. Spiritual.
“Think and Grow Rich” is one of the top 10 best selling books of ALL TIME. Yes, since it was written in the early 1900s, it’s become an all time top seller. Napoleon Hill writes in the preface about how he sat down with Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men in modern history. Carnegie shared some secret with Napoleon Hill, and Hill promised to spend his time sharing this secret with everyone who could understand it. At first, while reading I was skeptical because if it was so easy to achieve what Carnegie had everyone would be rich. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone isn’t rich like Andrew Carnegie. Then what’s the point of the book? I chose to read this book because Warren Buffet put the book on his recommended reading list. After reading only the first chapter, this book isn’t about money. This book is about success and how to think like those who are uber successful.
I’ve come to realize as a college student, on the brink of becoming completely independent, the future is uncertain. By relation that means success is uncertain. That’s scary! Uncertainty is scary because you can’t prepare for it. Unmet expectations are the number one cause of unhappiness. When the future is uncertain, you don’t know what to expect so you’re unhappy! However, that’s only if your focus lies in the wrong places. There are 2 beautiful things of an uncertain future. One, the future hasn’t yet arrived, you have time! Two, because it’s uncertain, you can do whatever you want.
Great so I have time, that means I can sit around and do whatever right? Wrong! If that’s how you spend your time, one day you’ll look around and wonder, “How did I get here?” One of my favorite motivational quotes from Gary Vaynerchuk is , “You’re going to die.” You might think that’s a pretty pessimistic uninspiring quote. Let’s break it down.
If you’re going to die, spoiler: you will someday, then everyday when you wake up you should be grateful you’re awake. The Latin quote, “Memento Mori,” means “remember your death.” Each day is a blessing! Don’t complain, you woke up. Some people didn’t. What does this have to do with success? If you aren’t happy with where you are then you’ve been given another day to change it. You can’t be ungrateful if you aren’t doing anything to fix your problems.
One of the hardest things for me is what do I want to do? Once, I was asked, “What are you passionate about?” I sat there dumbstruck. I had no answer. I didn’t know what to say. I’ve spent so much time and effort trying to focus on this I started seeing sideways. I’m passionate about those I care about, meaning I enjoy being around people and giving those people smiles and happiness. When it comes to me career-wise, I’m more lost. By lost I mean “early in the process” (another Gary Vaynerchuk favorite) not lost. I’m 21 years old. I’m only 21% through my life. What did the “Wedding at Cana”(one of my favorite paintings) look like when it was 21% finished? I’ve realized that the reason I don’t know what I want to do because I haven’t tried and messed up enough.
So if you don’t know what your future is, that’s okay, as long as you’re making an effort to figure it out. As a student, we often hold ourselves to standards of perfection, unreasonable standards. It’s okay to mess up, you learn more in failure than in success. So if you’re like me remember, “You’re going to die,” and exercise gratitude. If you’re gracious for every little success, you’re going to end up where you’re supposed to.
