The Iceberg Analogy: Cultivating Resilience and Chasing Dreams

"I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years. Ten of those were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success." - Steve Martin        

When we see someone who's "made it," we're never seeing the full picture. We only get to see the version of them that's at the top of their game.

However, this version that we see is merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the journey they've had to endure. We can't see what's below the surface — the years of mediocrity, uncertainty, and failures that they've had to go through to rise above the surface.

Steve Martin rose to international fame through stand-up comedy. But, at one point in time he wasn't a comedian at all. He was a college drop out who was getting mixed reviews for daytime sets at middle tier San Francisco comedy clubs.

It took Martin over a decade of difficult audiences and refining his material to finally get noticed. These fourteen years are the part of the iceberg that we as outsiders never saw.

No matter what you're trying to become, you have to remember that, if your dream is big enough, you'll have to endure a similar amount of time "below the surface."

Whether your dream is to become an author, a podcaster, a speaker, an entrepreneur, or anything else, you need to do two things:

First, you need to start. You can't wait for someone to push you towards your dream. No one will do it for you. You have to be the one to decide what that dream is and to begin working on it.

Second, you need to commit to work "below the surface" for as long as it will take. It could be two, ten or fifteen years. It doesn't matter. You need to be ready to march onward despite any headwinds you may face (and there will be headwinds).

Through this process, you'll learn. You'll fail. You'll improve. You'll meet people who will help you. This is all part of the process.

This is how you start making your way to the surface. This is how you begin to see the tip of your own iceberg — your true potential that, if left untapped, will stay below the surface forever.

Decide on your dream.

Start working below the surface.

Don't give in.

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