In order to succeed, you need to test your ideas. This is frightening for two reasons: Your idea can be wrong, or your idea can be right. The first sends you back to the drawing board. The second pushes you beyond your limits.
Although both possibilities are frightening, it’s even more scary to languish, to remain the same. Despite this, many people hold onto the idea that they could be the best, if they chose to apply themselves.
This strikes me as silly- failing to make decisions about what to do is a choice in itself. Delaying one’s potential to preserve the dream of being able to have it all teaches people to achieve nothing.
If you were a prospector, and you bought land, you would start searching for precious minerals under the land. If the land lacked the riches, you’d move on to a different plot, refining your skills. This same strategy should also apply to everyone’s gifts and talents.
The acid test of the market separates the wheat from the chaff. You rapidly determine if you’ve got what people want in your current formulation. If you do, expect to get busy. If not, there’s opportunities to reformulate, to reinvent yourself.
When I learned to debate, I wrote out elaborate speeches in advance, and tried to anticipate every argument. This strategy was a loser, because stock arguments weren’t as persuasive as listening intently to understand the subtleties of an argument. Thinking on my feet by contrast was a winner for me. If you fail, you can always try again.
Isadore Johnson's Website 