Everything has a price. The price we pay is normally in line with the value we gain. We consider what we need or want against the quality of a product or service and the price we have to pay. Whatever the price tag, if we come up short and don’t pay the full price, we don’t get the goods!
What type of price am I talking about here? I expect you’re thinking about money, but what about your time, your mental space, or even your freedom?
Success, and failure, each have a price. The journey to success often takes us down failure road – a road littered with toll barriers blocking our way to success. There is no discounted price for these barriers.
When we reach a barrier our destination can seem like a long way away. It can seem as though we’re paying more and more yet not getting the results we expect to get in return. However, is it purely a matter of perspective that is holding us back?
Maybe the level of thinking that got us to where we are today is not the level of thinking needed to pass the next barrier. Maybe we need someone who is further on their journey, who has already paid a greater price, to show us the price required to pass the barrier. Maybe we’re one small step from success, but we don’t even know it, as this short story depicts:
A young man started on his journey to Success. He came to un-signposted crossroads where he met an older man. The young man asked “Which road is the road to Success?”. The older man wordlessly raised his arm and pointed down one of the roads. The young man thanked him and set off down the road indicated by the older man. Travelling several kilometres, enjoying his journey, suddenly “WHACK!”, the young man was knocked to the ground. Getting up, battered, bruised, and a little dazed the young man stumbled back to the crossroads. The older man was still there, so he asked again, “Which road is the road to Success?”. Again, the older man raised his arm and wordlessly pointed down the same road. With trepidation, the young man set off again. This time he was more on-guard and found the journey less enjoyable. As he passed the point he had been knocked down earlier he relaxed a bit. He was making progress! Perhaps the older man was right. Then suddenly, “WHACK!” the young man was knocked to the ground again. Bleeding, furious and in pain, he limped back to the crossroads to find the older man still there. Furiously the young man said “I asked you which of these roads is the road to Success. Twice you sent me down a road where I was knocked down, battered, bruised and bleeding. Which is the actual road to Success?” The older man looked up at him, smiling, pointed down the road the young man had just travelled and said “Success is just beyond the whack.”