Last night I tuned into the documentary about ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin on the A&E Network. I don’t know about you but I always find the story about how someone became rich and famous or successful more interesting than who they are after they become rich and famous.
Well, almost always.
Most people only see the product after the hard work has been done. And too many people assume they ‘had it easy’ or were ‘born with a silver’ spoon in their mouth. Seldom is the case.
The Man… The Myth… The Legend
If you’re not familiar with who ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin is, that’s okay. I know there’s someone out there who’s rich and famous or successful that you can apply what I’m about to share with you to.
Steve was born and raised in a small town in Texas called Victoria. A small town with not a lot of opportunity. By the time he reached high school he had realized his physical abilities and decided to focus on football. Which were good enough for a short career at the college lever. Like most kids he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life but he thought it’d be pretty cool to be rich and famous. Maybe a Rock Star. But he quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen because he couldn’t sing or play an instrument.
The Aha Moment
They only had three channels on their television but that was enough for him to discover Houston Wrestling. And that’s when he decided that he was going to become a wrestler. He was big. He was strong. And he was tough. And he was about to find out just how tough, both mentally and physically he was.
Stone Cold would have to spend a couple of years running the roads from arena to arena for as little as ten bucks a night.
TEN BUCKS!
Some nights he would hit it big though and make $40 or maybe even $70. And then he would have to drive for several hours after the event to get back home.
Just like anyone who’s chasing a dream, people thought he was crazy. They asked why doesn’t he just give up and get a job. They couldn’t believe he’d put in the time and miles for such little money. Hell, one time he even had to ask his mom to send him $40 for his birthday so he could eat.
Can you imagine?
But this is what he wanted to do. This is all he wanted to do. And he didn’t know what else to do. So he kept doing it.
Then, in the early 90’s he was offered $75k/yr. And that was a lot of money back then. From there he went on to become one of the greatest and most influential professional wrestlers of all time.
So I ask…
Who’s The Crazy One
The person who chases their dream until every last resource has been exhausted or they’ve made it happen?
Or…
The person who plays it ‘safe,’ follows the crowd, and takes a job they don’t want or like and lives a life of quiet desperation never knowing if they could’ve made their dreams come true?
In ‘The Strangest Secret,’ a spoken word record by Earl Nightingale from 1956, Earl shares the most common answer given by most men as to why they get up and go to work. Do you know what it is? It’s “because everyone else is doing it.”
That’s not a good reason to do much of anything.