We are all familiar with the version of the Icarus Myth, where Daedalus warns his son Icarus not to fly too high because his wings from feathers and wax would melt.
It’s typically quoted in a way that discourages us from going for more or being too ambitious.
But there’s another part of the myth that often gets forgotten.
Daedalus also warned his son not to fly too low.
Getting too close to the water might feel safe, but it could make the feathers wet and the wings would become impossible to flap.
We're often fooled into thinking that we’re not cut out to aim for the top and the people who can fly high have better wings immune to melting.
Michelle Obama dispelled this myth during her visit to the UK.
"Here is the secret,” she said at London's Royal Festival Hall.
“I have been at probably every powerful table that you can think of, I have worked at nonprofits, I have been at foundations, I have worked in corporations, served on corporate boards, I have been at G-summits, I have sat in at the UN. They are not that smart.”
Let me repeat that:
They are not that smart.
Their ideas are no more exciting.
They don’t solve problems any better.
They just know what most people never learned.
There’s far less competition at the top.
Everyone else is busy flying low, obsessing over trivial details and letting small opportunities distract them from big ones.
Indeed, chasing mice is very comfortable.
Low self-esteem and confidence are big issues nowadays.
What you believe you’re worth is reflected in what you aim for.
There was a guy in the 1970s who rode his way to the top by dreaming big.
He became famous by lifting weights.
Then he dominated the action-movie industry.
Then he became the governor of California.
Arnold Schwarzenegger fought against all odds and yet, with his constant self-critical outlook he has done more in his life than many can achieve in 100 lifetimes.
“I may come across as confident, but the reality is I've really never felt I've made it. I always have been very critical of myself. I think that the secret for my success has been that I've always been hungry. I've always felt like I was not good enough, that I have not got there yet. I do lack confidence, but I do the reps and do them enough that the thing itself will be doable when it’s time...When I was competing at bodybuilding, I did so many hours of reps — on the weights, practicing the poses — that when I got onstage, I was comfortable and confident. The more reps you do, the more you look smooth and convincing. The more you do it, the better you get. That’s how you gain confidence.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone was born with a partially paralyzed face and slurred speech, yet his dream was crystal clear - he wanted to be an actor.
Homeless with no money to his name, he even starred in a pornography film.
In 1975, after watching the Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner fight, he wrote a film script.
He called it "Rocky."
Confident in his acting ability, he refused $360,000 for selling the script and accepted only $25,000 on the premise he would maintain the starring role.
The rest as they say is history.
“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!” - Rocky
Growing up in Brooklyn in public housing, Howard Schultz’s vision was to build a company that treats people with dignity and respect, the treatment his father was never shown.
Under his leadership, Starbucks became the first U.S. company to offer health benefits for part-time workers, tuition assistance, veterans hiring, and an employee stock purchase program.
He created a new store concept - a "third place" between the office and home where people could work and socialize.
Howard doesn't talk about the product as much as he paints a picture of what the product stands for.
Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee.
It sells human connection.
“We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee.”- Howard Schultz
Arnold, Sylvester and Howard, they all had it rough .
They didn’t have a dollar to their name, but they were excited to take life by the horns.
They dreamed big dreams.
They dreamed the kind of dreams that other people said would not be possible.
They surrounded themselves with great people, kept their egos at check, and shared success with others.
Do the same.
And then maybe, just maybe, you can do what Snoop Dogg did when he received his Walk of Fame star in recognition of his career.
“Last but not least, I wanna thank me. I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I wanna thank me for having no days off. I wanna thank me for never quitting. I wanna thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive. I wanna thank me for trying to do more right than wrong. I wanna thank me for being me at all times, Snoop Dogg you a bad motherfucker.”
Realize that you are worthy of big things.
Raise your ambitions and lower your expectations.
The higher your ambitions, the bolder your actions.
What is the point of being on this Earth if you are going to be like everyone else?
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