I'd like to think that I am equal parts dreamer and equal parts doer. At least that is how I perceive myself. I wonder if I were to take a few steps back, to disassociate myself from myself and become a casual observer, would I feel the same way. Or would I see myself as a blowhard, someone who talks a good game, but never really comes through.
When I envision my future, I see a successful, accomplished future me. I see a man that has gone after what he wants, someone who has brought his vision to reality. Someone who has dug deep, discovered what he wanted, put in the hard work and will soon realize the rewards. I have a goal that I am finally about to see come to light, at least the start of it. After all of the talking about what I want do in the future, I am finally ready to bring the talk to fruition. I planted the seeds in my mind nearly two years ago, now the time has come to watch the seeds grow into something incredible, to watch them blossom into what I have wanted them to be. I am ready to meet the future me.
Now the hard work begins. The long days that I now "enjoy" have just gotten a bit longer. But I will not be deterred by hard work. I will start methodically taking the steps that I need to take to bring my latest project into the light. I will call upon all of my desire, talent and dedication as well as those that I assemble for this project in order to bring it from vision to reality. My dream will slowly become my reality, and as time passes, I will transition from being the dreamer to the doer yet again.
I have a fire and a drive inside of me to succeed that I can no longer keep at bay. Once I set something in motion, I need to keep moving it forward, slowly at first while I build the necessary foundation to guarantee success, then with ever increasing speed and determination until it cannot be stopped. This dream will be realized, and it will most certainly be a success. I know this for a fact because I will not let it happen any other way.
And so, I now set forth on my latest adventure...
Showing posts with label hustle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hustle. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Exceeding Expectations
I know I will never always be able to live up to the above axiom, but I sure am going to try like hell to do so, on a daily basis, with everything I do. Surely that goal sounds lofty, but after all, isn't that the point of a goal? Put something just out of reach of the ordinary, so that you have to work just a bit harder in order to achieve it. And speaking of working just a bit harder, today I did just that.
I had been in a bit of a rut lately with work, namely the part of my job that involves selling. It had been a while since I had been on a cold call, mostly because it sucks getting the door slammed in your face over and over again. But today was different, and I can thank my neighbor for spurring me into action. During a casual conversation about my work day I mentioned how there is an entire portion of the Chicagoland area that the company I work for is extremely under represented. While in other parts of the city we literally own the market, in this one region we are pretty much nonexistent, and it happens to be the area in which I now live.
While mentioning this to my neighbor I had the proverbial "A Ha moment", the light bulb went off, I saw the sign, whatever else you want to call it. I decided then and there, mid-sentence, that my new mission would be to grow the region to the point that we will have to expand our business just to keep up with what I am doing there. Years ago I had made some cold calls that never panned out and based on that I had turned my back on an entire region that I deemed uninterested, or just didn't "get" what we had to offer. So for years now I have never even thought of trying to pursue any leads, but would rather try and fight it out in the other markets with the other salesman. Why? I have no idea.
If today was any indication of how the future will unfold though, then I am ready and willing to capitalize. I took my new found drive and capitalized on it. I put myself out there, knocked on some doors and was greeted with open arms. I was right where I needed to be, back on top of my game, doing what I do best, making connections. I killed it today, although it was only a few hours, I was on top, I was making it happen, I didn't have a single misstep, I was exceeding my own expectations. If today was good, then tomorrow should be even better. I know it won't always come as easy as it did today, but that's okay. Because with everyday that passes that goes well, I add firepower to my arsenal, I put the proverbial money in the bank, I sharpen my game, and I add a few more tools to my bag. In other words, I am better than I was the day before. And that's a pretty good feeling.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Perseverance
"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."
-Sir Winston Churchill
I'd like to think I possess a great deal of perseverance, whether or not I actually do may be debatable, but in my mind I'd like to think so. Whether it be at work, or at home or while running or training in martial arts, I tend to stick it out til the end in order to achieve whatever it is I am after. I have also realized through life that success can be measured by how much effort you put in. When I was 25 I started a business named Marketfresh Produce Co., and I worked, and worked, and worked. I loved every minute of it. I was proud. I was successful. In just a few years, I was selling over a million dollars worth of produce a year to some of the best restaurants in Chicago.
I woke up at midnight 6 days a week to start my day, by 2am on was on "The Street" as we called it, or the produce market to others. I hustled both literally and figuratively from one end to the other, several times for 3-4 hours every morning, loving every minute of it. From the smells of the fresh produce being unloaded from around the world, to the stench of diesel fumes that could leave your snot black with soot, I breathed it all in. The language was rough from everyone and the characters ran the gamut from the stereotypical to the downright insane, and somehow I felt right at home. Every conversation was an education in how to use the word fuck most effectively, and I was a pro. In explaining the Street to the uninitiated, I would often reference the Old West, it could be just that wild. While there were no gunfights, there were plenty of guns. The Street after all was situated in the middle of the projects, and its bright lights drew characters like a lamp draws flies. Hookers, hustlers, lumpers the market had it all, including cash. Lots of it.
The street ran on cash. And everyone carried it, myself included. One pocket carried a wad of cash almost as big as your fist, the other carried a knife because at 2am, in the middle of the projects you just never knew. Cash talked, because you could only yell so loud. It got you the freshest produce and it got you the fastest service. Because the faster you could get off the Street , the faster you cold make more money. In that business time was money. If I could get to a restaurant before some other asshole could, I was golden. In a business where the attitude was "what have you done for me lately?", being on time was everything. If I could out hustle all the other schmucks, with a better product, at a better price then I was unstoppable.
Life was good, work was hard, but never did I tire of the day to day hustle. My walk was fast as I moved down the Street , my talk was even faster. They called me The Kid because I was so young, I loved it, every minute of it. The old timers respected me, they saw the fire I had in my eyes. They all watched me grow and succeed, not only in business but as a person. I knew my shit, I had it together at 25 when most other 25 year olds were still acting like kids. I used that to my advantage, my eagerness to grow and learn attracted attention. In a few years I had several offers to merge. Offers from major players in the produce game, offers that had not been extended to anyone else. People saw in me what I knew about myself, if you work hard enough good things come to you.
Hard work doesn't scare me, never has. The harder the job, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward. Bring it on, all of it. I rarely ask for help, to me that is a sign of weakness, probably stupidly so, but that is how I work best. I have the mindset that nothing is impossible if you only try hard enough. While I don't always succeed, I do always try. Who wants to fail? Not me. But you never know what is going to happen if you don't at least try. I put everything I have into everything I do. I push harder when I would rather just quit. Knowing that the extra effort will pay dividends, maybe not immediately, but eventually. I may not be the smartest guy out there, and I am sure there is some other Kidout hustling even my hustle, but with a continuous drive forward I can't be stopped. I do what I do for me, for my family, for my friends. I work hard for the things I want, for what I feel I deserve. Maybe someday I can inspire someone to dig their heels in, try something they wouldn't have normally tried, push harder, or just dream bigger dreams.
-Sir Winston Churchill
I'd like to think I possess a great deal of perseverance, whether or not I actually do may be debatable, but in my mind I'd like to think so. Whether it be at work, or at home or while running or training in martial arts, I tend to stick it out til the end in order to achieve whatever it is I am after. I have also realized through life that success can be measured by how much effort you put in. When I was 25 I started a business named Marketfresh Produce Co., and I worked, and worked, and worked. I loved every minute of it. I was proud. I was successful. In just a few years, I was selling over a million dollars worth of produce a year to some of the best restaurants in Chicago.
I woke up at midnight 6 days a week to start my day, by 2am on was on "The Street" as we called it, or the produce market to others. I hustled both literally and figuratively from one end to the other, several times for 3-4 hours every morning, loving every minute of it. From the smells of the fresh produce being unloaded from around the world, to the stench of diesel fumes that could leave your snot black with soot, I breathed it all in. The language was rough from everyone and the characters ran the gamut from the stereotypical to the downright insane, and somehow I felt right at home. Every conversation was an education in how to use the word fuck most effectively, and I was a pro. In explaining the Street to the uninitiated, I would often reference the Old West, it could be just that wild. While there were no gunfights, there were plenty of guns. The Street after all was situated in the middle of the projects, and its bright lights drew characters like a lamp draws flies. Hookers, hustlers, lumpers the market had it all, including cash. Lots of it.
The street ran on cash. And everyone carried it, myself included. One pocket carried a wad of cash almost as big as your fist, the other carried a knife because at 2am, in the middle of the projects you just never knew. Cash talked, because you could only yell so loud. It got you the freshest produce and it got you the fastest service. Because the faster you could get off the Street , the faster you cold make more money. In that business time was money. If I could get to a restaurant before some other asshole could, I was golden. In a business where the attitude was "what have you done for me lately?", being on time was everything. If I could out hustle all the other schmucks, with a better product, at a better price then I was unstoppable.
Life was good, work was hard, but never did I tire of the day to day hustle. My walk was fast as I moved down the Street , my talk was even faster. They called me The Kid because I was so young, I loved it, every minute of it. The old timers respected me, they saw the fire I had in my eyes. They all watched me grow and succeed, not only in business but as a person. I knew my shit, I had it together at 25 when most other 25 year olds were still acting like kids. I used that to my advantage, my eagerness to grow and learn attracted attention. In a few years I had several offers to merge. Offers from major players in the produce game, offers that had not been extended to anyone else. People saw in me what I knew about myself, if you work hard enough good things come to you.
Hard work doesn't scare me, never has. The harder the job, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward. Bring it on, all of it. I rarely ask for help, to me that is a sign of weakness, probably stupidly so, but that is how I work best. I have the mindset that nothing is impossible if you only try hard enough. While I don't always succeed, I do always try. Who wants to fail? Not me. But you never know what is going to happen if you don't at least try. I put everything I have into everything I do. I push harder when I would rather just quit. Knowing that the extra effort will pay dividends, maybe not immediately, but eventually. I may not be the smartest guy out there, and I am sure there is some other Kidout hustling even my hustle, but with a continuous drive forward I can't be stopped. I do what I do for me, for my family, for my friends. I work hard for the things I want, for what I feel I deserve. Maybe someday I can inspire someone to dig their heels in, try something they wouldn't have normally tried, push harder, or just dream bigger dreams.
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