I’ve always been smarter than most of the people I know.
It might sound arrogant, but it’s just something I’ve always known. I was constantly told how smart I was growing up. All the things I’d do with my life because I was smart. How “easy” I’d have it.
After a while, I started to believe it.
And, I began to believe that “being smart” meant I was destined to be successful.
That, one day, it’d just happen.
By 28, it hadn’t happened.
And, I remember I would sit there and stew over it. “How can all these dumb people be so successful? I’m so much smarter than all of them and here I am broke. What is wrong with me?”
Man, what an arrogant prick!
But, I remember the night I broke.
It was in a New York City hotel.
It was for a mastermind that I felt like I had played a big part in making happen. And, I’d watched a client of mine profit off it while I played errand boy all day. I felt like such a chump.
Which IS an extremely jaded view of what actually happened.
But, that’s how I felt at the time.
And, to make matter worse…
I had to go to THAT client, like even more of a chump, and ask for an advance on my per diem for that trip. Because, I was so broke, my wife and kids were out of food and had no money to eat.
It was like everything hit me at once.
I couldn’t help it.
I just started crying uncontrollably.
That was the day I said, “Enough is enough.”
That I was going to stop WAITING for “it” to happen.
And, I was going to MAKE it happen.
I was going to stop sitting around whining about “I’m so smart, why can’t I make it?” And, I started valuing hard work, persistence and patience over intelligence.
And, when I started doing that…
That’s when things started happening.
I came across this quote, recently, that really sums it up for me:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Calvin Coolidge
Man, that hits hard, doesn’t it?
If you’re someone who’s always thought of yourself as smart… and that your intelligence would carry the day. To realize, it won’t… necessarily.
That it’s possible to be super smart and a complete failure.
More than possible… it’s common.
My point is this…
How smart you are isn’t as important as you think it is.
It took me an emotional breakdown in a hotel, 1000 miles from home (while my wife and kids went hungry) to get that through my thick skull.
Please, please, please…
Don’t let it get to that point for YOU.
As we roll into 2019…
Make a commitment to MAKE “it” happen.
To forget about how smart you are.
And, embrace persistence and hard work.
Don’t wait around for your life to happen.
Or, assume “I’m smart, so one day…”
It won’t.
In any case, if you’re a freelancer or web developer, I’m here to help. To take my 14+ years of doing this and pass what I’ve learned onto you. So, you don’t have to go through what I did.
And, that’s what my training curriculum does.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, freelancing and more.
And, you can access it ALL without paying a single penny on my free tutorial site here: https://johnsfreetuts.com
But, whatever you do…
Make 2019 the year you MAKE this happen.
Later,
John
P.S. If you prefer Patreon, you can get access to all my courses, plus even more “unofficial” tutorials and videos here: https://johnmorrisonline.com/patreon.