There is a Rudy with us all, the there is no stopping me now, the drive that ensures that we never look back, the inner voice that pushes us to succeed. It is within us all but yet it gets overshadowed at times though things in our lives that have us stray. We all do it and that is shows the human side of us but yet regaining focus and seeing the bigger picture brings us back. The Rudy within us is that drive to never complain, to give all that we have, to be there everyday and be grateful for the opportunity to be there. We lose sight of that as we are chasing the numbers; sometimes out of desperation to make ends meet or out of wanting instead of earning.
Unleashing the Rudy Within Us
Rudy Reuttiger, the young man that was determined to go to Notre Dame and play football. He did not come from a wealthy or highly educated family but yet he had his eyes set and never looked to the side or back. He set a goal and saw no obstacles. He was going to go to Notre Dame and walk out onto that field for every game to contribute to the team. He was smaller than most but yet really bigger than any of them. He got his ass kicked just about everyday at practice and did not complain, no, he got up and fought harder. He saw no boundaries as small for him was not an obstacle, it was a perception.
The Perception and Mindset of Small
We see all the time in social media where people are focusing on the numbers. We hear people say I am small, I am not popular, I am trying to grow, how can I grow, etc. The focus is on the numbers and not the drive. Do you think that Chris Brogan woke up one day and was big? No, he started at zero but was driven and has repeatedly taken his punches but at the same time he shows us his Rudy on being focused on what matters. You matter, I matter, we as people and a community matter, the giving more of him regardless of the toll it takes on him and his family. Take Gary Vaynerchuk who came to the United States as a small child and had to learn the language and adjust to a new culture. Was his family’s liquor store the biggest thing to hit New Jersey? No. Has he empowered his inner drive to create opportunity for the liquor store? Yes and then some.
The Cheers of the Crowd
We all have a story and all have a voice that we want heard or really why would we be blogging, chatting, engaging or creating dialogue? Our Rudy comes out when we are stripped down and take a look at ourselves and forget about the numbers – the traffic, the rewteets, the comments. When we set out and develop a social media plan (we do have a plan, right?) we are in the mindset to work hard, never complain, take the criticism of the trolls, but yet we succumb to the outside voices. To bring it back to Rudy, if he allowed the outside to get to him would he ever have had the crowd cheering for him to be out on the field in the last minutes of the last game? The cheers of the crowd are much more important than the numbers as even if it is one person that talks about you, one person that becomes your Charlotte, the power of one matters.
Wanting Instead of Earning
We all want and at some point in our lives feel we are deserving, or are we? Are we being a bit bratty and wanting to fulfill a need? This can be out of necessity and no-one will should challenge you on that but at the same time have you done it all to avoid getting to that point of necessity? We get a lot of gimmes in life but yet how much do we see that we earned? We get a drivers’ license when we pass a test, a diploma for passing and completing high school, acceptance to an university of choice by entrance exams and transcripts – we earned them but yet many do. When we get away from the gimmes and the perception of earning, we see where wanting and earning begin to become far apart. Wanting and deserving are needs where earning is that stop at nothing because the alternative is really nothing.
Earning can be a bit of a tango- a slow dance where we learn the moves, feel our dance partner and music. The beat is slower but the vibrations are heard and welcomed.
Have you unleashed and let us see your Rudy?
photo credit: JackiBeem
