True or False: You Can Be Anything You Want

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You can achieve your dreams if you work hard enough. I used to hear, "you can be anything you want" but the "work" part was left off. It's implied. Sometimes, it should still be said. I learned that I had a lazy streak. I was used to things coming relatively easy for me. I got mostly A's and B's in school, but I did work my butt off for most of them. I always did my homework and extensive studying. I thought it was the same level of work I would need to put into anything else I wanted to master.

Boy, was I wrong. I still believe in that sentiment, but there are a lot of unsaid--implied--things in the statement above: You can achieve your dreams if you work hard enough. What does that look like? How do you know you're working hard enough? When is the effort too much for what you want to do? Do you know how to take advantage of opportunities or create ones to help you be successful?

I love the idea of being completely self-reliant, totally independent. That's probably the biggest lie any of us ever tell ourselves. I didn't make the car I drive, the roads I drive it on and I am not the teacher at the university teaching myself. Yes, I can use the internet--that someone else created--to learn just about anything I want. I make that decision of how to spend my time. I can also read books from the local library--that I also didn't create--to further enhance my skills or just for entertainment. Let's be real here, none of us is actually completely self-reliant. We need each other to a certain extent: An employer willing to hire us, a coach willing to help us improve our interviewing skills, a mentor to help us more quickly grasp things than we would without a mentor.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning on your own time, with making the effort to study something you want to do. There is also nothing wrong with accepting help from people who are happy to help you succeed. Success comes from a blend of things, but I think a good part of what we really mean when we say we can do anything if we work hard enough, is that as long as we have the strength of will to persevere through all the hardships, obstacles, and failings, that we really can do anything we set our minds to.