"The harder I work, the luckier I get."

At the end of elementary school, we’re still dreamers. Every time our mom hangs one of our drawings on the fridge she’s like an art enthusiast at the Louvre. Every time we put that final period at the end of a short story, we think it deserves a Nobel Prize. Every time we have the attention of a crowd, it's like we're on stage at Carnegie Hall.

By the end of high school, we have bought into the idea that maybe our talents are not quite as cool as we thought they were. What happened? We received a few C's on assignments that we were very proud of. There was that social scene we totally botched and no one will forget. We took those punches of criticism right in the gut! At some point we decide that we should have something to fall back on just in case our dreams don’t work out. Our starry-eyed ambition settles for less. At some point the little dreamers we used to be decide that they don't have what it takes.

Here's the thing - It’s usually not a matter of having what it takes; it’s a matter of doing what it takes. It's a tried and true process: You get the training you need to qualify you for an entry-level job. You work hard and learn the ropes so you can get promoted. You put in your time, pay your dues, rise through the ranks and consider your career successful. But what if results don't come fast enough, and life takes over? We hit stumbling blocks, make mistakes and throw in the towel before we succeed.

That’s the problem with dreams, though, they tend to gloss over all that-in between stuff and demand a quantum leap from talent to stardom.

Discouragement causes the goal to fade and we need something consistent to brighten it. I find that if I am able to define what success looks like; understand what it really means to me; know if it is the process or the goal that inspires me --- The rest of it is just time spent on the path.

In retrospect, the only security we ever really have comes from putting in the time, working hard and knowing where we are going with it. Yes, it requires a bit of luck but the funny thing about luck is that "the harder we work, the luckier we get."