Just sit on one chair

Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23

 When he graduated from a a teacher’s college, Luciano Pavarotti asked his father whether he should be a teacher or a singer. His father wisely told him that he should not try to sit on two chairs, explaining that when you try to sit on two chairs, you end up falling through the space between them.

Pavarotti decided on a career in voice. For the next seven years he studied and tried. Repeatedly he was rebuffed, and only after seven years did he make his first professional appearance. It took him another seven years to get a chance to sing at the Metropolitan Opera but now the world recognizes him as one of the greatest tenors ever. “And now,” he says, “I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book – whatever we choose – we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”

Try these guidelines for accomplishment:

Guideline 1: Decide what it is you want to do and make it the main thing. This is something only you can do.

Guideline 2: Stay focused. Life has a way of distracting you. Commitment means you know what your goal is and keep moving towards it.

Guideline 3: Develop a tough hide. Rejection isn’t necessarily personal. There are lots of factors that cause publishers to send you the photocopied “Thanks but no thanks!” letter.

Guideline 4: When you feel like quitting, take one more step. When asked the secret of his success, Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first climber atop Everest, said, “When others quit, I took one more step.”

Guideline 5: Stay optimistic. Attitude is everything. When you believe you can, you are well on your way to accomplishing your goal.