Have you ever taken a look at somebody and thought, "I wonder how they do it!?" Whether it's juggling multiple jobs, or creating something incredible. Maybe it's another Mom who just seems to have her act together, or maybe it's an entrepreneur who just seems to be grinding it out and taking things to the next level. No matter what it is they do, these people seem to leave us left in awe and wonder. 

Naturally, we begin to compare ourselves and our achievements with theirs, and then we start beating ourselves up about why we haven't done more with our lives. The final act of this drama usually leaves us with the grand finale, we start to rationalize why we haven't done the things that we feel guilty about not doing. We create an entire mythology around busyness and lack of skills or connections or money or talent or all of the above. We then self-medicate ourselves with a series of hypothetical pats on the back, tell ourselves that everything is going to be ok and that those people just have something special, an X factor, or something else that you don't have so it's totally fine to just do you and they will do them, and you're happy with where you are anyways.

The truth about all of this is that you have bought into a lie. Hook line and sinker. In my last blog post, I dropped this gem of a quote on you from Whitney George, "Creativity is not magic... it's discipline." 

Today I want to drop another piece of gold on you from one of the greatest thinkers to have ever walked this earth...

I believe there are three main issues that you and I struggle with in regards to this issue of HUSTLE

1. WE DON'T EVER START - I had a conversation with a friend recently about a project that they are working on (this is actually a combination of two conversations in order to best illustrate my point, but most importantly, in order to protect the identities and ideas of my friends!), he looked at me and said... but I just don't have the X FACTOR that you have... my jaw almost hit the floor. He then went on to explain all of the things that needed to get done, and why he couldn't do them all and that things weren't just right so he couldn't get started... 

I looked back at him and said this, "You know what the X FACTOR is?" He looked back at my intently, leaning in to glean every ounce of knowledge that he could out of our conversation... 
"The only difference between you and me..." I let my voice trail off and let some time slip by to build some suspense, "I STARTED." 

We've all heard the age old saying that if you wait for things to be perfect, or if you wait until you're ready that you will never stop waiting, but as I've said here before, it's an age old saying and a cliche because it's true. 

YOU NEED TO GET STARTED. 

It doesn't matter what you are working towards you just need to begin. The time may not be right, you might not have all your ducks in a row, but guess what, THERE IS NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT. The world needs you and your creativity, so let's not waste any time, why don't you just get started. 

If the project list is long, the only way to make it shorter is to start crossing things off the list... BY GETTING THEM DONE! 

2. WE DON'T EVER FINISH

I love the quote from Albert Einstein above, it's time for us to develop some perseverance. Every time you watch an award's show somebody always wins the BEST NEW ARTIST CATEGORY. The amazing thing about this is that the artists are almost never "NEW".  Overnight successes are never truly overnight successes. The things that we don't see behind the scenes are the years of hard work and dedication to their craft. Often success looks most like a battle of attrition. 

Stick with it. Don't give up. Keep grinding. 

Let me say this, I do believe that it is time for us to re-defined success. You are not successful because you make a lot of money. You are successful because you are accomplishing the goals and purposes for your life and because you are making a lasting impact on your world. We can get so distracted with changing THE world that we forget to make a lasting impact in OUR world.

3. WE DON'T GIVER OURSELVES ENOUGH CREDIT

We are really good at telling ourselves all the reasons why we can't do something, but have you ever tried to tell yourself all the reasons you can? So let's just say that you've come up with an incredible idea and you've started to work towards getting started with this incredible concept. You've had some conversations, you've written some things down, and now you're staring at these notes telling yourself that this is too much for you to accomplish. Here's the thing, you've already gotten further than most people. And here's one more thought for you, you've been entrusted with this incredible idea... what are you going to do with it? 

The fact that you have had this incredible idea leads me to believe that you already have what is required to accomplish the task that is before you inside of you.

Let me sum it up. 

GET STARTED. DON'T GIVE UP. YOU CAN DO IT. 

Brett Esslinger is a Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Pastor, Speaker, Leader, Writer whose life goal is to help people unlock their potential and fulfill their life's purpose. 

Follow Brett on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @brettesslinger and of course over on Snapchat at: brett.esslinger