Over at 60 in 3, my personal fitness blog, one of the most frequent questions I get is a variation of “how do I lose weight fast?” It could be from someone trying to get ready for a wedding or someone who just realized summer is here and they want to look good in their swimsuit, but the bottom line is always the same; I want to lose weight and I want to lose it fast.
The same applies in other areas. I see people looking to make money quickly, find a girlfriend by next weekend, lose their virginity by next month and buy a house by the end of the year. All of these people are looking to accomplish a goal in a short amount of time.
What’s Wrong With This?
Nothing. Actually, it’s quite possible to do many of these things. You can find a side business that makes you extra money pretty quickly. You can find someone to sleep with and you can find someone to date all within a short amount of time. You can even find that dream house and yes, you can lose weight pretty quickly. I’m not one to say that quick solutions cannot be found because I wholeheartedly believe that many solutions can be quite quick and quite effective.
However, what these people are looking for is a magic bullet. They want something that will let them accomplish all this with zero effort. They think these things are possible to do with absolutely no work if only they knew “the secret”. If only I told them the magic formula to weight loss, making money and having sex, they could apply it to their lives and live a happily ever after.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is no secret and there is no silver bullet. Yes, I can give you tips and tricks but most of the return will come from your hard work. I can give you advice on what to eat or what not to eat, but you’re the one who needs to stick to your healthy eating plan and get some exercise. I can give you advice about how to ask for a raise or how to get a job, but you’re the one who needs to do the hard work and network. I can even give you relationship advice but it’s totally meaningless unless you go ahead and use that advice.
I Wish I Had The Secret
I honestly wish I had the secret to what ails people. I love seeing people happy and I like helping. If I could give you the secret to a life of health, wealth and great relationships, I would. If I could tell you how to make all your problems go away with just a wave of a hand, I would. I think that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy playing with kids so much, because they really do have simple problems that can in many cases go away quite easily. Adults though, we’re a different kettle of fish. Our problems took some time to create and they’ll take a lot of effort to fix.
So if you’re coming to this blog looking for the easy answer, you’re in the wrong place. There are no easy answers here, only advice that you will have to apply on your own and with some work. You’re going to need to hustle if you want that great relationship, those six pack abs and the job you’ve always dreamed of. I can tell you how, but I can’t do the work for you.
So What?
Why am I telling you all this? It sounds discouraging doesn’t it? On the contrary, I think it’s encouraging. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to think your goals are impossible. I don’t want you to sit there not doing anything because you believe you lack a certain talent, a certain ability or a certain piece of information. You can in fact accomplish your goals. It may take a lot of hard work but you can do it.
You don’t need to sit around and wait for someone to explain the magic method to you, you can do all of these things right now. You just need to think and work, and hustle and work some more. As Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration”. The inspiration is rather easy to find. It can be found on blogs such as this, in books, in friends, in those who care about you and in a hundred other sources. The perspiration, now that’s all you.
So rejoice in the fact that you too can be rich or thin or famous or sexy or whatever else you’ve been dreaming about. Yes, it’s possible, even without “the secret”, and that should be a source of joy to us all. Now get out there and do some good work!
