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| Courtesy of DSGNMomOnline |
I’ve always enjoyed the tales of the fine Irish lads who come across the gnarled, grizzled, tiny bootmaker, also known as the Leprechaun. There are a few versions, all ending the same way. An underlying theme is the young man’s desire to achieve success “the easy way”, forcing the Leprechaun to give up his pot of gold.
Leprechaun lore tells us, and them, that in order to get the Leprechaun to take you to his pot of gold you must hold on to him fast, and never, never, never take your eyes off of him – not for an instant. To look away or loosen your grasp is to lose the shrewd ticket to your fortune.
In every Leprechaun story, no one has ever succeeded in capturing the pot of gold. The person always, always looks away, or is tricked.
I like to look deeper into stories, to see what wisdom I might mine for my own pot of gold, but these just didn’t offer much, or so I thought.
Sure, it makes sense to win the gold by passing the Leprechaun test, but it’s still succeeding off the work of another. Practical, perhaps, but not ethical nor wise.
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| Courtesy SethGodin.com |
It wasn’t until listening to Seth Godin’s, The Dip, that the threads of this story came together for me.
He speaks of quitting all those things that drain energy from our true purpose (my words). Quitting anything that isn’t bringing us to a place of being the best in the world at whatever it is we are best in the world at doing.
Hmmm. I think the Leprechaun motif does tell me something. It tells me that when we find our passion, when we visualize our plan clearly, when we show up each day to take the next step, and when we slog through the dips, then the distractions and false promises of easy achievement won’t even get our attention.
We may see the Leprechaun, but we won’t try to capture it. Not because we think that the gold doesn’t exist; it does, and it’s even possible that one day someone will outsmart the Leprechaun. (That person’s genius will be in outsmarting.)
We won’t try to get that gold, because we will be too busy creating our own.
We may see the Leprechaun, but we won’t try to capture it. Not because we think that the gold doesn’t exist; it does, and it’s even possible that one day someone will outsmart the Leprechaun. (That person’s genius will be in outsmarting.)
We won’t try to get that gold, because we will be too busy creating our own.
The way to the gold is by digging deep into our own selves, appreciating, and enjoying our own treasure. This takes work, but isn’t drudgery. This takes a burning desire to seek our true selves and express them to the world. This takes a commitment to BECOME and to uncover, define, develop and share our gifts. This takes a very bold and powerful story.
What are you waiting for?
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