Without Persistency, A Dream Is Just A Wish
Welcome to the fifty-fourth edition of “In-Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please let me know what you think in the comments below.
Story of the Week: “Without Persistency, A Dream Is Just A Wish”
It’s no wonder Spyros, the 9-year-old son of my friend Dimitris, had wanted to emulate Ryan’s success. Ryan Kaji was listed, in 2019, as the highest-paid YouTuber and he’s not yet 12.
Having seen how Ryan had become rich and famous, simply by unwrapping and showing off new toys to his audience, Spyros was convinced that he, too, could make videos and become an influencer. He told his father, Dimitris, about his idea. Having listened to his son’s ambition, Dimitris proposed that the two of them come up with a viable business plan to help them realize Spyros’ goal.
The chosen location for Spyros’ first video was an airfield, with a number of F16 fighter planes in the background. Filming the video turned out to be much harder than Spyros expected. He kept forgetting his script altogether, meaning that he had to start over and over again. What had been planned as a 15-minute video shoot took over three hours and included 40 takes. By the end of it, Spyros was exhausted.
The next morning, Dimitris suggested that they should go out and film a second video but, by then, Spyros had decided that it was much too tiring and difficult and he told his father that he’d changed his mind about becoming a YouTube star.
Like dreamers of any age, Spyros needed to learn that persistency and consistency are essential components of any kind of success and, of course, by letting him try to realise his ambition Dimitris not only encouraged him but succeeded in teaching him that important lesson.
This is also a great lesson for all leaders and managers. Like Dimitris, make sure you encourage your direct reports (or family members) by listening to them, by encouraging them to think on paper and, finally, by testing their resolve in the real world. They will soon see that, without consistent and persistent work, a dream is just a wish.
Words of Wisdom
A little more of….
“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.” Elbert Hubbard
A Question to Ponder, dear friend.
“Have you ever given up on a dream?”
Thank you,
Michael R. Virardi
