HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?

Ahhh success. What we are striving for each day. To get to that place that says, "I'm here. I am known for what I do. I am respected for what I do. I am accepted because of what I do. I am loved because of what I do. And I get paid better than others, and sometimes, a whole lot better than others because of what I do."

But how high can you go? The answer is simple. Most of us don't really think about this. But the fact that most do not is what ruins thousands and thousands of people's lives, families, careers, and opportunities each and every day. You would think that we would be able apply wisdom from the mistakes of others. You would think that while traveling down a similar path of other broken individuals, we could stop, turn around, and run like hell in the opposite direction...

BUT WE NEVER BELIEVE IT WILL HAPPEN TO US

Humble yourself, my friends. I do not care who you are, how much money you have, how much status you have, how great you are, how spiritual you are, it will. I have seen it, experienced it, and in my own mistakes lived it.

SO HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?

The answer to the question is simply this: How far you go is limited by one thing and one thing only...Your Character. If you are a sports fan, all you have to do to get a small glimpse of this is watch ESPN. There are entire shows dedicated to showing the rise and fall of these glorious athletes. The old adage says, "If you want to know how long it takes to get to the top, consult a calendar. If you want to know how long it takes to get to the bottom, consult a stopwatch."

Current coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Joe Torre, says, "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." Most of us go through life really concerned about our reputation. Afraid to reveal our true character because we care so much about being accepted. So instead of living a life of personal freedom and living with the joy of pursuing the best of who we are, we pursue what we think we should be, or what other people think we should be. This causes us to make choices outside of who we are. These choices lead to a life of being broken down, stressed out, angry, frustrated, and eventually lead to self-destruction.

WHAT IS CHARACTER?

In my book The Passionate and Profitable Fitness Professional, I wrote this about character:

"Character is simply the sum of your decisions. Without character you will never--read carefully--never reach your potential as a professional. Why? Because people who make poor decisions on a regular basis will eventually be revealed. Character is not who you show yourself to be; rather, character is who you are behind closed doors, when nobody is watching. If you look at the greatest people in history who have fallen, it has always been a character issue. If you look at the greatest people who are never noticed, it is a character issue. Why? Because character does not care about pleasing others; character is solely concerned with doing what is right."


PURSUING CHARACTER PROTECTS YOUR SUCCESS

The only way to protect your success, it to focus on doing what is right and building character first. It may take longer. And it is for sure going to be a lot harder than the road others take. Others around you will be cutting corners to get there faster. Others will seem to get there faster, get breaks you don't get, get all the attention, achieve success when they haven't worked as hard as you for. You will say, "It's not fair." You will say, "I work harder." "I do it the right way."

I encourage you to hang in there my friend. While these one hit wonders continue to climb fast, they will drop even faster. One by one they will fall and you will steadily climb to the top of who you are and what you do. And in the end you will have protected all of your success with your character. You will be trusted, loved, humble, and will be a living example of someone who cared more about doing right than being successful.

Make a commitment this week to pursue character first. It is the insurance of your success in your family, your careers, and ultimately your legacy.


Watch this clip of Mike Tyson's movie trailer as it quickly portrays the rise and fall of a man who seemed to be on top of the world. This is a great documentary. I recommend it highly.


TYSON MOVIE TRAILER