Avoiding Overalls

Many of us have dreams we want to chase, but we often avoid the hard work needed to make them come true. This hesitation may come from a fear of commitment or the difficulty of the effort involved.

Thomas Edison famously stated, “Opportunities are missed by people because they are dressed in overalls and they look like work.”

Authorship Overalls

A great example of this occurred several years ago when I met a lady named Cathy. She had long brown hair, light skin, and was in her mid-40s.

She said, “Gene, it’s been my dream since I was a kid to become an author. Since you’ve written several books, I was wondering if I could hire you to be my authorship coach.”

Over the years, I’ve learned that when someone tells me they want to be an author, they are serious only if they have started a book already or are at least willing to write the first chapter.

I responded, “Writing a book is very challenging and requires many complex steps. I’m open to the idea of being your coach, but before agreeing, can you tell me how many pages you have written toward your authorship dream?”

She sighed and replied, “I haven’t written anything.”

I asked, “Okay, well, can you at least try to write one chapter of the book? It can be only two pages, but I need something written so I can get an idea of your writing style.”

“Of course I can do that,” she said. “Let me know when you have written it.”

A month went by, and I reached out to Cathy, asking, “Have you finished your first chapter?”

She replied, “I haven’t because I’ve been busy with other things, but I will finish it this week.”

When the end of the week came, I reached out again, but she still hadn’t written anything.

After that, I stopped asking her if she had started the book because I realized the process was dressed in overalls, and she didn’t want to do the work.

If you encounter a similar situation regarding your dream, remember that hard work is essential.

So embracing your overalls through action is key to achieving your dream.

Actionize Your Dream

Actionizing your dream is the most critical step in the journey toward achieving it. It’s about creating a plan and actively pursuing it.

So, if you are tired of just envisioning your dream and you want it to become a reality, stop avoiding the overalls and put in the work because you are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!