Thursday, August 11, 2022
In the before stage, you have to learn to love the process of becoming stronger and more resilient. You have to believe in what you’re giving to the world. There will be an after. There will be a moment of crowning achievement, but not without sacrifice, continued discipline, and unwavering belief in yourself, especially when no-one else is noticing your effort. Those who give up too soon are the ones who stay in obscurity forever.
Before you receive your crown, there will be countless hours of work and study, multiple failures, setbacks, and many, many lonely nights. But don’t forget these moments, the times before you achieve greatness. Don’t forget to tell your story more fully, sharing the moments before you were noticed. Everyone loves to tell about when their big moment arrived, but we forget the before moments, the period leading up to taking center stage.
The before stage is the hardest. It takes being OK when you’re alone; it takes discipline when you see no results; and it takes trust that your effort is working, even if no momentum is visible. If you want an after, you have to endure a before, usually for a long, long time. There’s no other way to get there, but to love the each step that leads to arrival. If notoriety happens prematurely, it will be a disaster. Before serves a purpose, it builds confidence, strengthens faith, and restores belief in yourself. It’s the long moments before the curtain rises that really count. When it’s time to move from before to after, you’ll be ready and confident to take center stage and to receive the spotlight. Don’t let that moment, when the spotlight hits your face, come as a blinding surprise. Prepare diligently and faithfully for its coming, and receive it gracefully when it finally arrives.