The Best Things are Never Easy

You have to go whole heartedly into anything in order to achieve anything worth having – Frank Lloyd Wright

The best things in life are free, sort of

Author David Levithan has this to say about the important things in life, “Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you’re friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

He makes solid points, but we can take that even farther. The very best things we can be are hardly the easiest things, either. Think about integrity, dedication and perseverance, and doing right. These things can end up being some of the most challenging things we can ever tackle, and yet they are labeled as the best things because they are the most rewarding.

As we seek to build a career or grow a business, we must strive to be these best things. Why? Can’t we just set certain behaviors aside until a later time? As a prime example, a lot of people justify taking advantage of someone in order to gain a short-term goal.

The best things are not easy, but they are worth your dedication and effort!

However, that loss of integrity ends up being a long-term loss. Not only because so many of these instances come back to haunt us, but because these are not honest ways of achieving success, and we must live with this forever after. It can leave even the best of us feeling wobbly and off balance permanently. Why risk this personal or professional loss? Make integrity a guiding force – no matter how much it might block your instant success. In fact, just consistently remind yourself that doing what is right cannot lead you astray, and it is the best possible policy. Be the type of person you want to do business with. Do it for the love, not the money. First of all, care about people.

This points to the next thing we must always strive to be, and that is someone with great perseverance and dedication. It can be so hard to give up or take unhealthy shortcuts when we struggle or even fail, but we have to be honest and recognize that high quality people always seem to be the ones that stick with it because they know they have God given talents and that these are meant to be used.

Think about that. Someone like Albert Einstein is considered a genius in part because he was able to focus on single problems for extended periods of time. We all have that ability when we direct our creative energy towards the growth or use of our talents. In that way, we might all become geniuses of our craft or career.

The best things are not easy, but they are worth your dedication and effort!