Monday, June 10, 2002

Climbing the ladder

Everyone is always climbing the ladder of success and achievement. The problem is, most people are climbing down just as much, if not more, than they are climbing up.

A ladder does not care whether you use it to climb up or down, yet it will only go so far in either direction. If you leave the ladder where it is, you can only climb so far up, and then you must turn around and climb back down.

To keep climbing higher, you’re going to have to move the ladder. You’ll need to pull it up when you’ve climbed its length, and place its base at the level where its top used to be. That means venturing into new and unknown territory, taking some risks, and moving out of your comfort zone. It means learning new skills, setting more ambitious goals, and building upon your previous accomplishments.

It takes a little more effort to pull the ladder up behind you after you’ve climbed it, to keep building upon what you’ve already done. Sure, it would be easier to climb back down and do the same thing again, but where would that get you? Once you’ve climbed up the ladder of success, set the ladder higher, and climb it again. With a little more effort, you can turn the ups and downs into ups and ups, and continue moving ever higher.

— Ralph Marston

Reality check Sweet success next

Copyright ©2002 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.