Anything worthwhile takes work and usually a lot of it. We may show up at a sporting event ... whether basketball, football, mountain biking, and so on ... and we're enthralled with the skill and talent of these top-tiered athletes. But what we don't see is the grind. For some that grind towards greatness began on the playground or open fields in elementary school. While they may have started their journeys with some innate natural talent and ability it was and is their work ethic that carried them.
We all want a short cut ... the easy route. That one Youtube video that catapults us into celebrity status, that one social media post that opens up a myriad of doors that we step through, or that one silly song we made up that becomes the one song that began everything. However, for most of us that's not the route that is set before us. It doesn't mean something wild and mind-boggling can't happen, but in the interim what we have is this ... the grind.
Dreams are not for the faint-hearted. While we idolize those who "made it" what we don't see is the grind ... the 5:00 AM wake-up call to get to the gym, the endless hours perfecting their craft, sleeping on their buddy's couch before they landed their first contract, the financial sacrifice as parents drive their child to games all over the region in hopes of landing a full-ride scholarship to a university and a stepping-stone out of generational poverty, and the story goes on. It is the dream that is the fuel. It fuels resiliency, tenacity, and stick-to-it-ness.
What is your dream? What are you grinding for? If you're feeling in the slightest bit fainted-hearted ... don't give up. Press on. You will make it. There are no guarantees so this is not empty motivational words. This comes from one your your shoes. We're in this together. Let's do this.
Are you ready?
Words by Sean Benesh, Loam Coffee Founder and Brand Manager. Photo by Ben Wurmser and Tina Gerber.