Embrace the Burn

I'm sitting here watching kids of all ages practice their Kung Fu. My daughter is just minutes away from helping test another student (so they can get their next sash).

As I watch I'm reminded of a truth I shared with folks at WordCamp Tampa this past weekend.

Things worth doing, good things, take time.

I don't know if these kids ever expected to come practice Kung Fu every few nights. I don't know if they realized it might take months of practice to get a sash of a new color. I don't know if they ever signed up for years of training.

But I do know this.

They'll go far in life if they learn the lesson early. Great achievements are worth the work. And they take time.

Maybe it's just me. Or my friends. Or an entire generation. But we wanted our MTV right away. We learned to eat microwave food. We embraced instant tattoos.

We are shaped by the desire for wanting everything quickly.

Quick results. Quick growth. Quick expertise.

And that impatience betrays us.

Because anything worthy of our investment is going to take time.

So stop looking for instant results.

Stretch. Sweat. Stress.

And embrace the burn.