Delivering On My Crazy Plans – The Climb #242

Wednesday 20^th September 2017

I stayed off the day job today because I’m still not feeling 100% but my plan is to go back tomorrow. However, despite the cold, I’ve been feeling incredible due to the external validation my new world ranking has given me.
At the start of this year I said I wanted to teach swordfighting. I’d noticed that those who did saw explosive improvement afterwards. I’m not sure if this view was universal, but I was convinced enough to go ahead with it, believing that it would improve my swordfighting.
I thought today about how I have massively improved this summer. I wasn’t fighting my best on Saturday but yet, people who beat me back at Astolat, either got beaten or held to a draw. I thought the result was fair, I just think I could have fought better.
Despite this (or maybe because of this), I feel I’ve massively levelled up this summer, and I don’t think I’m the only person to notice this.
Likewise, I said last year when I seriously started hitting the gym, that 2016 was about me getting my fitness / skill to an equal level. 2017 would then be about pushing ahead.
I realised today that both these things have come true, that I said something would happen, and it did. And I’ll be honest, far from feeling smug about it, I feel proud and a little surprised.
It’s got me wondering what it is about me that can see a plan of action and then carry it out. I mean, I have tenacity. I’ll knuckle down, get laser focused (sometimes to the detriment of others things) and put in the hard work. But without a plan it’s useless.
I seem to be good at taking something that seems impossible and then come up with a plan for it. Of course, it’s never easy, but it’s quite liberating (and possibly a little scary) that, in essence, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.
I’ve often said that the only thing stopping people accomplishing things is how badly they want it. At some point, the effort and sacrifice something takes means that people give up or become satisfied with what they have.
It feels like I’ve discovered a superpower. Every obstacle the world puts in front of me suddenly seems a little smaller, because I know I’ll find a way if I really want it. And really wanting it is the key.
My world-ranking has given me an incredible sense of validation. When you suffer with a lack of confidence, speaking about such validations can come off as smugness, as rubbing people’s noses in your success. It’s not that, but I am becoming more aware of how it can be seen that way. In reality, I’m not there saying “I want to remind you of how awesome I am”. Instead, I just want someone to pinch me and tell me that it’s real. Maybe they are two sides of the same coin, but I am aware like any good superpower, they come with responsibility to use them carefully. I’m still learning that.
When I come up with these crazy plans and declare them to the world so I have to back up my own shit with action, I often see the doubt in people’s eyes. I’ll be honest, I love it. I feed on that stuff. It motivates me. I don’t think badly of that person because, in all honesty, I’m doubting me as well at the time.
I don’t want to rub people’s noses in it when I succeed, but I suppose it’s inevitable to some degree through the mere act of accomplishing my goal.
The thing is, I want my friends to succeed. I want them to take on an impossible task and succeed. I’ve heard many entrepeneurs say how it’s lonely at the top, that few people understand the sacrifice and the hard work. I kinda get that. I get motivated by other people’s success. Heck, I get motivated by their struggles as well, because achieving things is really hard and it’s nice to know you’re not alone in that regard.
I want to surround myself with people who succeed, or are on the road to success. I see people give up, or not want things badly enough to put in the insane amount of hard work, and I sigh a little. Not because I think less of them – I’ve learnt over the years that not everyone is like me and that’s probably a very good thing. But I see them write off their dreams when I know they have it in them to succeed.
I have crazy plans. I shoot for the stars but don’t plan to get there tomorrow, And you know what? I deliver. It doesn’t always happen as quickly as I’d like or in the way that I’d like, but I do get there! When I’m so often filled with doubt, it’s important that I recognise this.
That’s why The Climb exists… because it’s all documented. Heck you can go back to #1 where I turn up to swordfightng to find no-one there and chart my progress to my latest major milestone. You can actually read about my growth. And you know what’s exciting? Hopefully fairly soon, you’ll be able to chart my progress as a writer as well.
I want to show that it’s not impossible. I want to show that I’m not superhuman, that I have doubts and failures, that I make huge mistakes, that I cock up sometimes and have to backtrack.
I know there are exciting times ahead. There are going to be a few huge failures, and more massive successes. And you know what? When someone asks “How did you do it?” I’ll point them here! It’s all documented!
If you want to follow more of my journey, then be sure to check me on my social channels. Likewise, if you’d like me to expand on any point mentioned above, please say so in the comments.