Be Splendid

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance." Bruce Barton

If you rise up, there will always be someone to try to slap you down. Human nature. Just today Mocha Momma got trolled on a silly, cute post by someone who said..."I can tell you think your better than the rest of us. Someday you will regret your smug attitude and everyone will see you for the snobby bitch that you are."

Mocha Momma IS magnificent. She is hella smart, tall and beautiful, and when she has the floor she takes it and owns it. She is formidable, so it is only natural that the crabs who want to stay down in the bucket grab her and try to pull her back down with them.

When I was a kid, I believed everyone was pretty much equal. I grew up in the 60s, okay? And I kept that attitude for a long time. I wanted to believe that, given enough help, anyone could be successful.

I'm past that now. Successful people are successful mostly because they are better at what they do than other people are. They get up earlier, work harder, think quicker and do things that other people won't.

Sure, luck plays a part. An important aspect of that luck is good timing. Google happened when the world was ready for an awesome search engine, not five years too early or five years after a great one was already out there.

The truth is, though, almost no one is successful alone. It takes a team to smooth the way, provide support and to cheer.

I love to watch people find their passion and work it hard. Isn't that why we all love the Olympics? We get to watch enthusiasm and talent and sustained effort all come together for one great moment.

That's why I love the BlogHer conference, too. I have seen people show up kind of timid and confused the first year, far more confident and focused the next, and fully involved in doing what they love and doing their best the third. This year the table of books written by attendees was about 30 feet long, a beautiful sight. Being around people who believe in you and cheer you on is invaluable when you are on the path away from the ordinary.

Tearing people down is easy, but building them up isn't that much more difficult. Why someone would choose the former over the latter is a mystery to me.