The long game of Legendary

Overnight success has been a marketing ploy since... well, probably forever. I'd bet Lady Guinevere's carriage rode past peddlers pushing tonics and salves to fix this or that in a jiffy. More modernly, there are hundreds of business ideas out the wazoo promising you'll "get rich quick." (Ask me some time about one I fell for in college involving an 800#. Funny stuff.) 

Instant success is enticing because it's easy. It takes out all the tough stuff. And that's exactly why it doesn't work. How many people do you know who've lost 50 pounds eating nothing but steak and pork rinds, but it comes back on plus 10 more. Fast and fad stuff doesn't work. (Is fad short for something? Like fade? Hmm.)

The point I'm getting to is that the people who put in the GRINDING are those whose shine ends up BLINDING the competition. (Maybe I should be a rapper. Someone get Eminem on speed dial.)

I think it was Malcolm Gladwell who wrote about 10,000 hours to excellence. Some people have been trying to disprove it. But, I think he's got a point-- excellence takes effort. We live in such a hyper-drive time where people courting online will get downright nasty if their inquiry isn't responded to instantly. (Hmm, any wonder why they're single?) The superficiality is depressing. 

When it comes to work that lights up your soul, the thing you can zone into and block out all other distractions, the creation you feel absolutely called to bring to life, well, stick in it for the long game. Stay true to you. Even if you're not everyone's cup of tea. Authenticity is almost always appreciated (and reciprocated). Get in your own game. Put in the hours. Stay the course. Don't compromise every time you get critical feedback. Own it.

Legendary takes time. You can become great. Gradually.