Oh yes. I’m the great pretender. Pretending that I’m doing well. My need is such, I pretend too much. I’m losing, but no one can tell.
– Freddie Mercury.
I woke up with this song toward the end of last year. It was almost a moment of awakening. In that moment I realized: I’m pretending to do well when I am really not. I know they say fake it till you make it and that’s what I’ve done all my life.
However, in every person’s life there must be a moment of truth. A moment of honesty. A moment where you are not focusing on the silver lining around the very dark cloud. Sometimes it’s not just about staying positive. I’ve seen people who always speak positive things but they still lose. See, we are always busy justifying ourselves to ourselves.
I didn’t make the phone calls because it is Friday and people don’t buy on Fridays. I didn’t achieve my goal because I was so tired, I needed a break. I was so busy with work I couldn’t get to the things that really matter. It’s one thing to lie to your boss, your customer, your supplier, your family. The worst lie of all is when you lie to yourself.
There is only one truth: ‘THE SCOREBOARD‘.
ME – 0
LIFE – 10
You can tell me I’ve work so hard, you can tell me I’ve made 50 phone calls, you can tell me I’m a good father. What does ‘THE SCOREBOARD‘ say. That will tell me the REAL TRUTH.
You can blame the economy, your upbringing, your education, your boss but that doesn’t
change ‘THE SCOREBOARD‘.
I’ve realised over the years that 99.9% of the problems I have are my own doing or not doing.
THE TRUTH is not far away, it’s not mystical. You don’t need another self help book. You don’t
need more advise.
Sit down. Write down what you want. Look at your schedule for the last month and honestly ask
yourself: ‘Did this schedule take me closer or further away from what I want?’ Inevitably, you
will find a lot of busy but wasted moments. Ask yourself: ‘Where did I procrastinate?’, ‘Where
did I let fear of speaking to others keep me back?’, ‘What does ‘THE SCOREBORD‘ say?’.
HEY!!! You were born a ‘W'(Winner). So WIN.
STOP PRETENDING.
Focus on ‘THE SCOREBOARD‘ and turn it around.
ME – 10
LIFE – 0
Written by:
Phillip De Jager Managing Director of ICS Flow
