Lot’s of folks, and especially Rush, are excited about Ashton Kutcher’s inspirational acceptance speech for the Ultimate Choice Award received at the Teen Choice Awards ceremony Sunday. Their consensus was, Kutcher’s atypical of today’s youth, most of whom are lazy and ambitionless, the actor coming across as one to be admired for his work ethic and competitive attitude.
Kutcher’s major point was that hard work, ambition, desire to learn and appreciation of those hiring him have been cornerstones of his professional achievement from the start, at age thirteen, and no easy way to success exists.
This registered with me because I began working at the same age, during summers in a factory, trying my best to fulfill my responsibilities. And even way back then, the vast majority of productivity derived from a small segment of all those employed, which management certainly noticed. That not only helped me attain goals much sooner than others, but corner-stoned further success throughout my career, eventually taking me to the top of my profession.
I mention this now because there were times in my sales career where the winning of orders was only a question of whether or not I chose to compete. Because, if I arrived, very few if any competitors, had a prayer of contract closure.
The secret to success wasn’t due to any special skills or powers on my part, however. Because, although knowledge and abilities gained from my dedication to professional self-improvement often gave me an edge, the real benefit to me was that almost all others did such terrible jobs themselves. Laziness, tardiness, ignorance or carelessness about details made them look like the slackers they were.
Consequently, when it came to buying decisions, most smart prospects chose the one they thought made the best impression. And, to make matters even better for me, I always, without equivocation, absolutely made sure to deliver whatever I promised.
So, in the end, superior achievement is most often far simpler to accomplish than it appears, ordinarily requiring hard work and effort much more than any kind of special skill or talent. Which is why, I guess that Woody Allen said way back in 1977 that “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
Then, on the other hand we have those who make no effort at all, sitting idly by, trying to prevail on just talk while delivering absolutely nothing of value to anyone, any where. And, as usual, the administration’s the best example of that category of lazy, incapable slackers.
Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post, wrote an article today headed, “Obama golfs, Kerry lectures, Egyptians die in droves.”
She began by stating, “Put it this way: President Obama’s Egypt policy is about as effective as his Syria policy. And for the first time Wednesday, with the number of dead and injured mounting, one could almost envision Egypt’s descent into out-and-out civil war.”
She goes on to report that. “Obama was briefed, said nothing and went back to golf. Secretary of State John Kerry took a break from his fruitless obsession with the nonexistent “peace process” to condemn the violence, but took no questions and had no policy announcement. This, in a nutshell, is the White House’s approach to the Middle East — the absence of any policy and a lot of empty words.”
Ms. Rubin’s conclusion is that the incumbent “might as well play golf. He’s dropped the ball on Egypt and the entire region, leaving the United States with few options and the Egyptian people to a bloody future in the short run and a repressive authoritarian junta in the longer run. This is a policy failure of the highest order.” And that, “Syria, Iran and Hezbollah must be gleeful to see the United States so weakened and insignificant.”
So, to me there couldn’t be better proof of today’s theme that hard work and real dedication are basic to success and accomplishment, while talk by itself is practically valueless. Another example of which appeared in the August 7-11 Gallup poll where the incumbent’s approval rating on work and education is now 35%, down seven percentage points. His ratings on taxes and the federal budget deficit are each down five points. During the same period, his overall approval rating is down three points.
Therefore, as I’ve been repeating more and more often lately, while talk is cheap and always was, today’s items demonstrate clearly the value of hard work and effort. And how much easier it becomes to overcome completion when all you’re really battling is a motor-mouth in an empty suit.
That’s it for today folks.
Adios
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