There’s A Price To Be Paid

“There are only three things to know about how to get what you want.  One, decide what you want.  Two, decide what you are willing to give up to get it.  Three, go for it.”

H.L. Hunt

I’ve Been Thinking . . . about the responsibility that accompanies getting what we want.

A late night flight home from New Jersey provided a perfect example.  Two men made their way down the aisle of the 737 displaying behaviors common to people not accustomed to flying.  They struggled to find their correct seats and nervously asked a flight attendant for assistance as they neared my row.

One man was dressed in a tee shirt with a picture of a fish spreading from his plump stomach over his right shoulder to the middle of his back.  The shirt was about three inches too short (you get the picture).  His face hadn’t been shaved for several days and neither had he taken the time to wash and comb his hair or wash his jeans.

His buddy was dressed in a black and red wool coat, complimented by a green and brown camouflage cap.  His blackened teeth, greasy hair and significant body odor led me to think he was not well versed in appropriate personal hygiene.

The men seated themselves across the aisle and a few rows ahead of me.  I found myself watching them and their insistence on leaning over each other and the woman in the window seat so they could see out the window. 

Suddenly, both men jumped up and moved to the row behind them -- one in the window seat, the other on the aisle.  Thirty seconds later, the man in the plaid coat quickly made a dash to the window seat in the row behind him, now directly across from me.

The flight attendants began their pre-flight safety instructions.  One of them asked the man who had just moved to the window seat if he was aware that he was seated in an exit row.  “Are you capable of performing the duties required of you in the improbable event of a crash?” the flight attendant asked.

“What responsibilities?” he responded with surprise in his voice.

“You must be able to remove the exit door so passengers can escape,” she replied matter-of-factly.

A startled look came across the man’s face as he quickly replied, “No way, I don’t want that kind of responsibility!”  He jumped out of the exit row and situated himself in an aisle seat.

I thought to myself, as I watched him settle in for the lengthy flight:  This is so indicative of people naive about what it takes to get what they want.  Rarely are they willing to assume the responsibility that goes with the privilege.  Success in any endeavor demands more than a casual investment.

H.L. Hunt made it quite clear that, to get what you want, you must decide what you are willing to give up and then go for it.  Successful people “give up” the convenience of doing only what they want to do when they want to do it.  Be prepared every day to do something you don’t want to do but know you should do to achieve what you want.  It’s a price every winner knows they have to pay. 

Zig Ziglar confirmed this prerequisite for success when he said:  “When you do the things you ought to do when you ought to do them, the day will come when you will do the things you want to do when you want to do them.” 

The next time you are tempted to move into the exit row aisle seat (or any other desired position in life), decide first if you are willing to do whatever it takes to make the trip.

People who take personal responsibility for the quality of their lives often end up with more quality in their lives.  What level of responsibility are you comfortable assuming to achieve the level of success you desire? 

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of our responsibilities.”

 Sir Josiah Stamp