Your Success is Inevitable | An open letter to my son

I shared with you all when I first started this weekly endeavor that my intent is to share what I know from the perspective of a millennial wife, mom, and consulting executive. The past nine weeks I have shared pretty heavily with you from the executive perspective. However, so much of what I have learned about building teams and helping others to succeed is rooted in who I am as mother. As I said last week, J has unexpectedly been one of my greatest teachers. In the spirit of being authentic, the past few months have been hard for me on a lot of fronts, motherhood included. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what motivates others to succeed, and how I could help the amazing kid I have been gifted recognize his true potential and tap into all that he already possess. So, here's what I know about the inevitably of success through the lens of a mom rooting for her kid to succeed.

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Well Kid,

It's been a rough few weeks for us. Many lessons were learned and there is still much work to be done. If you have learned nothing else so far, I hope you have learned that you are loved enough to be told the truth and that you are only scratching the surface on what you can accomplish. With that being said, digging in and doing more can be daunting. For analytical people like you and I, the "what ifs" and "how comes" can ring louder than any of our other thoughts causing a phenomenal amount of self-doubt that makes decision-making seem impossible. I've been in what can feel like an infinite loop of failure and it is no fun, especially for someone who is so intelligent. People like you and I can rehearse the scenario a million times, and find comfort in having plan A - Z for how things should work out. Preparation is a powerful tool. Don't allow it to function as a paralytic. Thoughts of how to help you recognize the trap of procrastination via preparation have continued to invade my thoughts, so I am penning this letter in hopes that it brings you peace and reassurance even when I cannot.

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True to character, I am going to give you the dessert first. Your success is inevitable. Whether you realize it or not you are constantly succeeding. In one of my favorite books the author, Gary John Bishop, illustrates that we are constantly winning at whatever we have set our minds to.? The problem is that we have not been intentional and/or honest with ourselves about what our minds are set on. For example, when you step into the box, if you have decided that you are going to connect with the ball and find barrel, then you will swing the bat whenever you have the slightest chance of doing just that, you will adjust your timing, your position in the box, and anything else possible to do so. Conversely, if you step into the box and decide that you want to get on base, with the least amount of discomfort or potential embarrassment, you will spend your time attempting to mentally push every ball that comes your way into the category of being unhittable, and wait for the walk and/or the perfect pitch to swing to at, while the good enough strikes send you to the dugout empty handed and doubting your own abilities. You have the intellectual and athletic abilities and access to resources to succeed at anything that you put your mind to, but you absolutely have to be honest with yourself about what it is that you have made your focus. If you aren't getting the desired result, then your focus is in the wrong place.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, go play your game. If someone is going to beat you, make them compete with you on your best day every single time.? No one is extraordinary at everything and most people are not extraordinary at anything. Not because they lack ability, but because relentless focus and consistency are required to achieve greatness. Saying no is hard. Letting go of what you are good at to focus on being truly great at is even harder. When I look at you I see an innumerable amount of things that you could choose to be good at, most of which will allow you live a an economically comfortable yet unassuming life that will leave the course of history largely unaltered. However, there are less than handful of things that you have all the makings to be one of the greats in. If you were willing to tune out the noise of the world telling you how difficult achieving greatness is, the distractions of what feels good in the moment, and the fears and anxieties that your desire to know every scenario will spin up, you could be one of those people who impact more lives for the better than they will ever know. All of that is within reach, but you have to play your game. Not the game that works for most people, the one that you have mastered, the one that allows you to show up as the best version of yourself. You have to make the decision to focus, put in the work and to play on your terms unapologetically. Both paths are acceptable, but you do have to choose which one is for you. Greatness does not happen by accident no matter how easy it looks. Will you choose to be extraordinary or choose to be comfortable?

This letter is getting dangerously close to the TLDR line, so I should probably wrap it up. Whatever path you choose in life, you are loved. Understand that nothing is owed to you. You have to earn it every day and take accountability for every step in your path. Your success, at whatever you choose, is inevitable my love. Choose intentionally and choose wisely. Step out, take a deep breath, rock your hips, and go show them who you are.

Your biggest fan,

Mom