Here’s an interesting insight from William Walker Atkinson:
“One of the curious things noticed by those who are brought in contact with the people who have “arrived” is the fact that these successful people are not extraordinary after all.
You meet with some great writer, and you are disappointed to find him very ordinary indeed. He does not converse brilliantly, and, in fact, you know a score of everyday people who seem far more brilliant than this man who dazzles you by his brightness in his books.
You meet some great statesman, and he does not seem nearly so wise as lots of old fellows in you village, who waste their wisdom upon the desert air.
You meet some great captain of industry, and he does not give you the impression of the shrewdness so marked in some little bargain-driving trader in your own town.
How is this anyway? Are the reputations of these people fictitious, or what is the trouble?
The trouble is this: you have imagined these people to be made of superior metal, and are disappointed to find them made of the same stuff as yourself and those about you.
But, you ask, wherein does their greatness or achievement lie?
Chiefly in this: Belief in themselves and in their inherent power, in their faculty to concentrate on the work in hand, when they are working, and in their ability to prevent leaks of power when they are not working. They believe in themselves and make every effort count.
Your village wise man spills his wisdom on every corner, and talks to a lot of fools; when if he really were wise he would save up his wisdom and place it where it would do some work.
The brilliant writer does not waste his wit upon every corner; in fact, he shuts the drawer in which he contains his wit, and opens it only when he is ready to concentrate and get down to business.
The captain of industry has no desire to impress you with his shrewdness and “smartness”. He never did, even when he was young. While his companions were talking and boasting, and “blowing”, this future successful financier was sawing wood and saying nothing.”
Moral of all this: Stop wasting your talents on useless tasks and get down to business! Focus on making something worthwhile.
