I saw a quote meme this week that really caught my eye. It stated “I just realized that ironing boards are actually surf boards that quit following their dreams and have an actual job. Don’t be an ironing board.” It really made me think how true that is of most people. How many people give up on their dreams and just go to work as an employee to build another person’s dreams? It is way too common in today’s world. Who crushed their dreams?
For most people, it has to do with what you are taught as a child. Your belief system was embedded by your parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, leaders and mentors. These mostly well-meaning people taught you your limits. Some will teach a child they can be whatever they want to be, but most add limits. You aren’t pretty enough to be Miss America, you aren’t smart enough to be President, or you aren’t tall enough to play in the NBA. Those teachings become embedded and limit us our whole lives.
Take the African Elephant, a very smart powerful animal, but when raised by humans in captivity it can be trained for a new belief system. When elephants are small, they are chained with a shackle on their rear leg to a steel post in a few feet of concrete. The little elephant pulls and pulls to free itself for weeks and months until he finally gives up. The elephant believes he is trapped no matter what he does. Notice when you go to a circus the adult elephants are chained with the same shackle and chain to a wooden stack only about a foot in the ground. The powerful adult elephant could easily pull up the stake and escape. However, its belief is that no matter what it does, it can’t escape, so it doesn’t even try. That training is in its belief. Some people are “trained” to believe they can’t succeed even though if their belief changed their success would also change. In other words, they stop being surf boards and become ironing boards.
Do you live for the weekend? Do you need a vacation? Do you hate your job? Or your boss? Or your company? Chances are somewhere you became an ironing board. It is never too late to become a surf board again. Break those chains and ride some waves!
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”— Confucius
Image by John Kasawa at www.freedigitalphotos.net
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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 2, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 31 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.