No Time for Envy or Jealousy

I posted this message on Facebook and Twitter earlier today:


You have zero right to look at somebody else's career success, wealth, house, car, fitness etc. and get jealous or envious. They have worked, sacrificed, studied, learned and grown in ways that I guarantee you haven't been wiling to. How can I guarantee that? Because if you were working, sacrificing, studying, learning and growing in that way you wouldn't have a spare second to be jealous or envious of anyone else.


Let's unpack it a little bit in the blog.  Almost all of the great men and women in history have had to endure a tremendous trial or negative circumstance.  It is typically the lessons that they learn through that tragedy or bad situation that allows them to excel and achieve at a high level.  Most of us want to experience the success without paying the price of going through the negative life event.  We want to earn "doctor/lawyer" money but are not willing to endure 7-10 years in college preparing.  We wish we had a beautiful house, but are unwilling to earn the money to pay for it or are unwilling to do the upgrades to make it possible.  We wish we were more successful as coaches, leaders or teachers but rarely read anything that will help us achieve those goals.  When was the last time we gave up a weekend to attend a training session or a leadership clinic.  Do we listen to talk radio, pop music, sports talk or Podcasts when we are in our cars driving around.  Are we actively turning off the TV so we can carve out time to develop the talents and abilities God has given us.

To sum it up a quick story... When I coached basketball at a camp in New York an obese teenager came up to me and said "when I make it to the NBA I am going to have an entire kitchen stocked full of junk food so I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want."  I tried to sensitively explain to him that in order to achieve his dream of playing in the NBA he would likely have to closely monitor his caloric intake and that he would have to sacrifice eating junk food in order to reach his goals.  Clearly crushed and dejected he walked away.  He had no intention of changing his lifestyle in order to reach his dreams.  How many of us are the same?  How many of us are unwilling to sacrifice in order to reach our dreams?