DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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28 DIGS.NET | 6.11.2021 Resilience is remarkable. In my mind, it's the secret ingredient to success. How people define success is different for everybody. But the one thing I know for certain is that the word resilience will somehow make its way into any definition of success. I'm sure every single human being on the planet has become stronger and more resilient after the last 18-months we've all lived through. It's the blessing rising out of the curse. When I look back at the things I'm most proud of, like being a father and happily married for 22 years, I see resilience. I see it in the things that are built, created and shipped. Resilience is what comes after commitment. It's the stronger and better version of what came before. If you accept that life is hard upfront, and that really nothing comes easy (even for those things seem to come easy,) your halfway there (wherever you want to go.) I just heard a story about a business book that was published that quickly made over a million dollars in profit once it hit the market. The book was turned down by most of the big publishing houses…the rejection letters were still coming in while the writer's bank account was growing by 7 figures. Resilience. Whatever you decide to do, commit to it, and do it. The world will try and make you stop along the way, but don't. If you keep going the end result will be better than before the start. It's always worth it. Burn the ships. You may have heard the story of the Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernan Cortes, who in 1519, decided to seize the treasure that the Aztecs had amassed. Cortez took 500 soldiers and 100 sailors and landed his 11 ships on the shores of the Yucatan. With a sizeable army of 600 men under his command, Cortes was still outnumbered by the powerful Aztec empire which had been in place for over 600 years. P U B L I S H E R ' S M U S E Warren J Dow Publisher wdow@Southbaydigs.com 310.373.0142 Then he did something that made history – he burned the ships. His act made the ONLY path forward crystal clear for his men – if they were to go home and survive, it would be in the Aztecs' ships. All or nothing. 100% commitment. Failure is not an option. Conquer or die. And so, they did. Cortes and his small army defied the odds and did something that no one else could do in 600 years. The lesson is powerful. Total commitment to something is a superpower. When you know there is no going back – no alternatives, you can make incredible things happen. The hardest part is the commitment. The labor, the hard work, the trials and tribulations, the doubters, the haters, the grandstanders – all create the sweetness found in the journey. When I started this magazine you are reading today, I burned the ships. I left a very successful 15-year career behind, quickly burned through my savings and was met with doubt and "you really want to do this?" at every single turn. But the ships were burned. I was all in. There was only one outcome in my mind. It serves as a powerful reminder and a proud part of my personal origin story. But there is always another side to a story…knowing when to quit. When to quit (and when to stick) Let me say this – there are times when it's best to quit, and there is nothing wrong with quitting either. The trick is knowing when and if it's the right thing to do. Every new project, business venture, hobby, or a new company that is launched always starts in the honeymoon phase, when it's all fun and optimism prevails. But then things start to get really hard, and you hit the dip. For a great perspective on this, check out Seth Godin's iconic bestselling book called "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)" that was first published back in 2007. In the book, Seth challenges the status quo "winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt – until they commit to beating the right Dip." Seth goes on to say, "You might be in a Dip – a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-sac – a total dead end. What really sets superstars apart is the ability to tell the two apart." Just remember…winners do quit, and quitters do win. To your greatness ~ PS: Stay enlightened, informed, and unruly - subscribe to the Marketing Muse newsletter for free at > MarketingMuse.substack.com/ Resilience