Success: All That is Necessary

I was watching Batman Begins last night at my hurricane evac digs, and a line jumped out and smacked me in the face. This is a paraphrase, but basically, in a moment of truth where Batman spares a life out of compassion, the bad guy says, “I see that you lack the discipline to do all that is necessary.”

And I realized…I lack the discipline to do all that is necessary.

If I was committed to doing all that is necessary to succeed and thrive, I would have been side hustling instead of watching Batman Begins. I would open my laptop after I put my baby to bed instead of unwinding. I would get my butt to the gym instead of eating a Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cup. I would pour myself an herbal tea instead of a glass of wine.

Does this mean that I do not deserve success and abundance?

Modern day success gurus preach the need to sacrifice for the bigger picture. We’ll never feel like it, but we must do it anyway. Design an environment that forces our success habits. The harder we work, the luckier we get. No pain, no gain. Hustle. Grind. Repeat.

Must the struggle be real?

I’m not lazy. In fact, I’m an ambitious, big-thinking, vision-seeking, bushy-tailed entrepreneur at heart. I’m also really freaking tired. I’m a single working mother with a big job. Both of these things alone require me to operate at a very high level. So, then, if at the end of the day, I’m not willing to give up wine or sugar or an hour of Netflix, do I in fact lack the discipline to do all that is necessary?

Sometimes I think I don’t deserve to tap into that elite 5% way of life. Perhaps those people were willing to do all that was necessary. And every time I take a nap instead of create a Facebook ad, I inch further away from my big dreams.

Sometimes I think maybe it’s just luck of the draw and that top 5% have a mix of hardcore “whatever it takes” people and some who drink wine, eat sugar, and watch Netflix.

Perhaps the whole 10x, entrepreneurial success gurus are just modern day people with their own self-esteem issues, hustling for their worth.

One side says delay gratification and do all that is necessary to break free from average and unlock your wildest dreams. Another says enjoy the journey. These approaches may not seem opposing on the surface, but when you get down to the behavioral action you’re going to take during your baby’s afternoon nap, they are. Am I opening my laptop or taking a nap? And if I do the latter, do my wildest dreams remained locked?

When I ask myself if I am willing to do all that is necessary, this ultimately leads me to my biggest question of all…

Is it actually necessary?