Looking back at those turbulent times in my life, I learned that success is a process in which a person must go through and complete a series of actions, changes and phases to produce success and the results wanted in life.
It reminds me of a story about a man who one day found a cocoon for a butterfly in a park. The man noticed a small opening appeared in the cocoon, so he sat down and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then the butterfly seemed to stop making progress. It appeared as if it had gone as far as it could and could go no further. At that point, the man decided to help the poor butterfly. So he took out a pocket-knife that also had a small pair of scissors attached and he snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon. Afterwards, the butterfly emerged easily. But something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment for the wings to enlarge and expand to be able to support its swollen body, which should contract in time, but neither happened.
In fact, that poor butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly. What the man had done, in his kindness and haste and did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the small opening of the cocoon was part of its success process. It was part of the process of forcing fluid from its body into its wings so that it would only be ready to fly once it had first struggled and achieved freedom from the cocoon on its own.
If you went through all your life without struggling, without obstacles, without being uncomfortable it would cripple you. Not only that, you could never fly and you would not be as strong as you are now. So it’s critical that you embrace, endure and complete what you started the day you decided to pursue your goals, passion and dreams , your success process!
James "Bird" Guess was once homeless after high school, yet he personally financed his way through college and graduated with hopes of climbing the corporate ladder and becoming a rich executive. But after only working a year in "Corporate America," James’ ambition and goals outgrew his corporate career plan and he decided to quit his job and risk everything to go after wealth, success, and the "American Dream."
Starting with only $1,000 saved from college, poor credit, and a dream to become a millionaire, James single-handedly built a quarter million dollar enterprise selling clothes from the trunk of his car. After expanding his business model from retailer to wholesaler, he made over a half million dollars, cashed out and invested in rental property, and decided to pursue his passion more than profit.
James is now the President & Founder of JBG International Success Academy, a personal and organizational development company that trains and develops working professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and organizations to achieve their greatest potential. He is also a world-renowned speaker on performance, leadership, and financial empowerment, as well as the best selling author of the book How I Made A Quarter Million Dollar$ From the Trunk of My Car.