It’s always under the surface where it’s reserved for good divers.

You have an unwritten book that will only come out through intense pressure and heat

If you are too afraid to dive in, to take risks, to face challenges, you lack grit. You end up on the surface being so soft that life will chew right through you.

Your success does not live on the surface. The surface is where things are easy and swimming is an enjoyable adventure. When the sea is calm, you are not tested on your capabilities as a swimmer. Anybody can swim when the waves are smooth.

But …

Where is your success in this smoothness? Where is your success when the sea is helping you float on the surface? Where is your success when you are sleeping in your boat and the sea is calmly taking you to the shore?

A Metaphor on Success:

Imagine life like an ocean. When there is no storm, the ocean is calm. There is a bobbling kind of stillness. You can go to the other side of the ocean without even trying.

When the storm comes, you cannot sleep in your boat and trust that the storm will not sink you along with your boat. You have to swim as if your life depends on your skills as a swimmer or navigate your boat to swim against the storm that is trying to drown you.

You have to use your wits to survive and even thrive and be a good diver who gets the pearl that sits beneath the ocean.

You have to dive in and use your capabilities to swing at the waves that are rocking your boat. You have to be determined. You have to be resolved and have the persistence to pass the storm. Without ever giving up because giving up means drowning in this case.

And when the storm passes, you realize that you have become an accomplished swimmer. You realize that the storm has made you stronger and resilient. And that you have become a good diver.

You have to dive in to be successful in life

There should be a degree of pressure, of struggle, of heat, of discomfort in whatever it is you are trying to achieve in your life.

People don’t succeed because they are swimming without any current and resistance from the sea. They succeed because they refuse to give up on their goals and purpose. They refuse to leave the sea that has become unstable. They work hard consistently. Regardless of where they are standing — be it a smooth sea or a sea that is swirling with waves that are thrashing everything they catch in all directions. And are willing to dive in deep in the waters.

Because wanting to stay on the surface and be comfortable is not the way to succeed in life.

What is it that you are trying to achieve? Are you digging deep beneath the surface to achieve your dreams or are you comfortable barely gracing the surface? Are you comfortable watching TV and benching on your sofa while your colleague is working extra time to achieve promotion? Are you willing to take another shot at your thing when you fail? Will you still be standing when failure happens?

Whatever life throws at you, whatever the impossible situation, wherever the odds of achieving success seem remote, who are you when that happens? What will you do?

Do you remain on the surface and lose what is hidden beneath the surface or do you dive in preparing to attack the boundless and hideous creatures that are living there? Do you say: “I’m not going down without a fight.” Or will you wimp out, roll over and die?

When a storm comes to your home and tries to steal your dream, what do you do? Do you wait for the storm to pass and hope that your home is not destroyed along with your dream? Or do you learn to dance in the storm? Do you have thick skin to withstand every storm?

Do you turn your back on setbacks and challenges on your life? Because you want your life to be a smooth ride and want it to be always a series of ups.

Or, do you confront reality — where life is a series of ups and downs? And you learn to navigate the downs. And fight to float even when a storm is shaking your foundation.

Related:

Without Grit - Nothing Is Going To Work Out

To your inspirations,

Banchi