Action is the foundational key to all success. – Pablo Picasso
“Field of Dreams” is a classic American movie interweaving baseball, family and good old-fashioned Midwestern ideals. If you haven’t seen it (are there any of you out there?), it is absolutely worth a look. In the film, Kevin Costner plays a fledgling Iowa farmer (Ray Kinsella) fraught with both debt and past issues with his deceased father. While walking through his corn field one evening, he hears a voice whispering from the heavens:
“If you build it, they will come.”
Hijinks ensue (as they say in Hollywood) and soon, Ray chops down his cornfield, builds a baseball stadium and sees lots of dead people. (I need to work on my Wikipedia skills!) The point is by sticking with his gut instinct and building the baseball stadium instead of planting crops, Ray realizes the dream of reconnecting with his father while presumably attracting untold riches as a tourist attraction. He built the field, and the people came in bunches. Problem solved. While that may work in Hollywood (or Iowa!), that same approach does not always work in our business and personal lives.
We Have to Lead
In our business lives, it is not enough to train, study, and role play in order to achieve success. We have to execute! In sales, we can review the most effective techniques but unless we pick up the phone or visit our clients, we will never reach our quota. As entrepreneurs, we can design a killer app and create fancy technology, but unless we effectively market and actively drive demand with the customer in mind, we will never generate revenue. As coaches and teachers, we can absorb the latest training techniques, but unless we take action and earnestly connect on an individual basis, we will never make an impact on our students or players
Building tools and undergoing training is table stakes. In order to translate that process into success, we must vigorously put these skills into practice. The crowds are not going to come on their own. The fish are not going to jump in the boat! If we are going after a dream and trying to make this world a better place, we have to demand and earn the attention of our target audience. And that comes by keeping our customers at the center of everything we do.
The same is true in our personal lives. It is not enough to go out to social functions. If we want to make new friends or meet someone special, we have to actively engage with other people. It is not enough have children and hope they grow up to strong. We have to play an active role in administering discipline and guiding them down the right path. It is not enough to enter into a marriage. We have to put in the work and collaborate and communicate if we want to create a lasting relationship. Just showing up in life is not a recipe for happiness and success. We need to actively participate and connect with those we treasure the most.
Resilience Takes Hard Work
And when we suffer a setback, it even more important to stay active. A lost sale. A failed business. A broken relationship. Things just aren’t going to get better on their own. Time does not heal ALL wounds. If we want to get back to a path of success and happiness, we have to take control of the situation. Resilience is not inevitable. It takes hard work and planning. We need to analyze our mistakes and apply new insight to our next great adventure. We need to pour everything we have into repairing our relationships. Or, if the damage is irreparable, we need to pour everything we have into making new connections. Sitting back and hoping someone will magically show up to solve our problems is not realistic. Resiliency starts with an active choice to move forward.
Building it (whatever your “it” is) is only half the battle. People don’t always line up on their own to make our lives better. We are not in Iowa anymore! We can’t sit back, cross our fingers, and hope that things will work out. If we work hard with our target audience in mind, the crowds will come. If we intentionally connect with our loved ones, we will achieve fulfillment. If we stay focused on our next great accomplishment, we will move forward with grace and dignity and achieve our field of dreams.
We are the star of our own life. We need to take control. We need to stay focused. We need to keep the end goal in mind and actively go the distance!