You'll Know When You Know

June 11, 2007

I did a show on The Sirius Radio Network yesterday. The host, Jesse Dylan, asked me a powerful question. " Robin, we all have goals and aspirations. But sometimes things don't go as planned. How do you know when to quit? " My answer was simple: " you'll know when you know. "

No one gets to world-class in their work or in their personal lives without a relentless devotion to not giving up. All acts of heroism were committed by human beings who refused to lose. They just wouldn't let go - no matter how bad things looked. So many giant wins occurred just after what seemed like tragic defeat. So it's essential to have what Google co-founder Sergei Brin called " a healthy disregard for the impossible. " (God I love that line. I should have it knit onto my pillow).

But having said that, life often sends us curve balls. Sometimes life has other plans for us. We ache for something to happen and some dream to get done. But no matter how hard we try, the clouds never part. We never get the break. Luck never smiles on us. But we continue to toil in darkness. That's fine - if deep within you your fire burns brightly.

But sometimes, you get to a point where you just know. It's not about losing hope. It's about trusting life. That there's an even better thing waiting for you. And that it's time to course-correct.

For the past few years, I've tried to live by a pretty simple philosophy: " do your best and let life do the rest. " It's not easy to let go of what you want. But why wouldn't you if something even better is waiting just around the corner?

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