Sometimes I think that those of us who have neither genius or brilliance, nor some flash-in-the-pan idea that goes viral, are left with only one option:

Show up every day and work at it, even when you are worn out and don't feel like it, and even when it feels like the world is going to hell and even your BEST effort ends up feeling like you're losing ground.

Maybe that sounds overly dramatic or fatalistic... but what other options do we have?

I have definitely tried the approach of "waiting for a miracle to happen," and that has never led to anything better than frustration and oceans of tears.

Similarly, waiting for someone else (or someTHING else) to provide the critical impetus to get on the path to success is... well... just an invitation to wait a long time for absolutely nothing.

We're surrounded by messages assuring us that we not only can have it all, but we deserve it all... yet the depiction of "it all" will remain eternally out of reach of 99% of us.

It's basically a lie; a deception; a manipulation.

The Plumber Who Loved Art

A couple of decades ago — in a place and life far, far away — I became rather good friends with the plumber who worked on a variety of problems at my house. The house had been (partially) built by the prior owner's church group... who were neither builders or construction workers, nor plumbers, and there was some really sketchy plumbing.

In time, Scott the plumber became a family friend.

I remember the first time we were invited over to Scott's house for a BBQ... and I was just amazed when I got inside his modest older suburban house and found virtually every part of every wall covered with dozens of original paintings by many renowned regional and national artists. Having been in the art sales business, I recognized many of these works as easily being in the 5-figure (USD) range.

It was basically a collection you'd expect to find in some swank multi-million-dollar mansion, not in an older barely maintained ranch house in the suburbs.

This real life occurrence remains as my premier experience of what you can accomplish by focusing and showing up every day.

Scott (and his wife Jeanette) had both held dreams of becoming artists when they were in college, but both ended up taking more "sensible" routes; he as a plumber (NOTHING to do with his eventual Philosophy degree); Jeanette as a middle school art teacher.

They weren't really interested in a "fancy" life, nor in taking expensive trips, so they lived very modestly while also working hard, often foregoing vacations in favor of weekend trips to the Texas coast; home cooked meals instead of restaurants... while turning their love of art into a pretty amazing collection that also was a sort of tax free retirement plan.

One of the things I remember about Scott was that he was always working, even though he didn't necessarily have to. Not "working" to the extreme that causes burnout, but never missing a day, and rarely saying no to an off-hours call from a customer.

A final bit of the story is that Scott was never really ambitious. He held no dreams of building a company, nor of having a fleet of plumbing vans all over the city. He liked to keep it simple... and very focused.

He was also not put off by those of his colleagues who occasionally remarked on his passion for art as "something for snooty rich people."

Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people approached life the way Scott did. It's all about showing up every day, and staying true to yourself, and ignoring the Court of Public Opinion.

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