When I was younger I believed I would make a pile of cash – striking it rich – with some great new invention or becoming a famous actor and then coast the next 50-60 years of my life while laying around my home, exercising and going to see great shows.

One of my biggest realizations is that you never “arrive.” That image of pulling up to your “destination” in a black stretch limo as the crowd cheers your exit from the vehicle is flawed. Just a bit.

You never arrive. Why? Because you are constantly in process. Or at least you should be. The moment you sit back and begin to count your accolades and accomplishments is the moment you’re done.

I wished I realized that at a younger age. Not that I didn’t hustle, but it’s a perspective that I have benefitted from after understanding the big picture. When you fall in love with the process, then and only then can you have a healthy perspective of your journey forward. If we can stay away from focusing on the results and dive into the process, we’ll end up exactly where we need to be.

I have to believe the awareness to ponder our own thinking comes at a cost. To what degree I’m not sure.

A bird sings her song in the early mornings because it’s in her nature. There’s no stress, stage fright or anxiety about how she sounds or what the crows may think. She belts out her tune over and over again as she goes about her day. After all, she’s a song bird.

Maybe we overthink a bit too much, which can lead to a whole lot of nothing. Maybe we should engage in more “doing” and let the chips fall where they may. Or sing our song loud and proud and not worry about what our audience thinks.

After all, if you have to sing, then sing.

So often we get stuck at how we are going to accomplish something, attract the perfect person, solve the problem, open the new business or how we’re going to complete that creative endeavor of yours.

Believe it or not, the how is not the first step – nor the most important one – on your odyssey that lies before you. The most important step is committing. Deciding. Once we decide we cut off all other options.

However, because we are made up the way we are, we want – need – to know HOW we’re going to get it done. We want to rush ourselves to the Emerald City and throw back the curtain of the mighty wizard exposing the process for what it is.

It doesn’t work that way. We always have to take that blind step into the unknown before the universe will reveal her secrets.

We cannot forget that as there are no shortcuts for this process.

How we view and what we choose to remember about our past experiences dictates what we think and believe we can accomplish on our next endeavor.

This is important as our memories are subjective. We are experiencing them as an individual that has feelings, emotions and opinions. We can benefit from believing the memory went down a certain way in order to protect ourselves to fall in-line with our “story.”

I have always claimed I have a hard time with perspective. Because I may think something is “difficult” while another individual may not – depending on their history, life experiences, expectations, upbringing, etc.

Let’s be careful of “labeling” our memories as “good, bad, failures, successful,” or any other word that denotes a hierarchy or placement of your life experiences. As we know, the past has no bearing on the future, so let the past remain there.

Refrain from the judgement and take it for what it was: A result. If you want a different one, then try it again. There’s no reason to emotionally attach our emotions to the outcome and drag our precious-selves through the mud only to exhaust yourself and discourage further attempts.

Get up. And try again. It’s just a result. If you don’t like it, try something different.

There is no doubt luck can fall your way at any time. But, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that’s all it is. When we choose to enter the game of opportunity and show up to put in the work repeatedly, we are giving ourselves a chance to fail – no doubt – but we are also increasing our odds that Lady Luck will find us.

I’m not saying we should count on luck as a part of our success in accomplishing your goals, but we must recognize her presence. And yes, she is female.

When you hear about stories of how an actor was “discovered” on a particular audition and went on to play the role that skyrocketed their career, don’t overlook the hundreds of other countless auditions they went on and didn’t get the part. Or the dozens of acting classes, workshops and plays down in the musty basements and back alley’s of 25-seat theatre’s they participated in without pay and most-likely without much of an audience.

When you put your head down, show up, fall in love with the process of what you’re doing and get lost in time, that’s when she will align the stars in your favor. But only after you’ve made an honest commitment to the work itself.

After all, she’s a wise one.