I was born with strong impulses. The impulse to go against the grain is one of my more prevalent ones. When other kids colored in the lines, mine would be the paper that went just outside on purpose to see the response I would get. When everyone else showed their work on the exam, it would be mine that sparsely met the requirement. I usually had the right answer so what was all the fuss about? In general, I hated being boxed in on most anything. I relished the idea of bringing the unknown, the most noticeable, the slightly risky, to any given situation. Most of the time I got away with it. Sometimes, I was even rewarded for what was often called my "creative thinking" or among my Jewish friends in New York, my chutzpah or at home my "some nerve." I did things to elicit response, sometimes simply for the attention it got me, but more often because I hated to follow the road more traveled.
Along the way I have accomplished things in my life that leave people scratching their heads in dismay. When you look at where I came from it's no wonder they do. From living on public assistance as a child to being crowned a beauty queen to attending the best Business School in the world some would say, to becoming largely successful in my own right. I started with nothing and I ended up somewhere. Most of the time I was constantly succeeding, I was also way over-indulged in a state of trusting my impulses. When I failed and I often did fail, it was my impulse to pick myself up and try again that propelled me forward. Did I mention I competed in over 10 beauty pageants before ever winning or that I have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business deals over the years?
People like me, those who are driven by impulse meet a lot of people who are governed by restraint. Occasionally the intersection is helpful to both. Like when the impulse to run back into the burning building is met with that voice of restraint, "Are you completely cuckoo?" That voice of restraint has saved my hide more than a few times. It helped me resist the impulse to remain in perilous relationships, jobs, and business ventures over time. But here is where restraint and I part ways.
I have met restraint and seen firsthand the long term personal havoc it has reeked on others. I loath the site of it every time. For instance it is usually dressed up as insecurity, procrastination, doubt and fear.
People ask me all the time how I did it. How did I become so blatantly successful? What amount of luck was involved? My answer never changes. My answer is this. I got over and moved around that voice of restraint that was trying to make a home in my head. I fought against its attractive scent, its allure and its disguise which came clothed as a picture of peace and comfort. I looked outside of my head and I chose the road less traveled.
Along the way I have accomplished things in my life that leave people scratching their heads in dismay. When you look at where I came from it's no wonder they do. From living on public assistance as a child to being crowned a beauty queen to attending the best Business School in the world some would say, to becoming largely successful in my own right. I started with nothing and I ended up somewhere. Most of the time I was constantly succeeding, I was also way over-indulged in a state of trusting my impulses. When I failed and I often did fail, it was my impulse to pick myself up and try again that propelled me forward. Did I mention I competed in over 10 beauty pageants before ever winning or that I have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business deals over the years?
People like me, those who are driven by impulse meet a lot of people who are governed by restraint. Occasionally the intersection is helpful to both. Like when the impulse to run back into the burning building is met with that voice of restraint, "Are you completely cuckoo?" That voice of restraint has saved my hide more than a few times. It helped me resist the impulse to remain in perilous relationships, jobs, and business ventures over time. But here is where restraint and I part ways.
I have met restraint and seen firsthand the long term personal havoc it has reeked on others. I loath the site of it every time. For instance it is usually dressed up as insecurity, procrastination, doubt and fear.
People ask me all the time how I did it. How did I become so blatantly successful? What amount of luck was involved? My answer never changes. My answer is this. I got over and moved around that voice of restraint that was trying to make a home in my head. I fought against its attractive scent, its allure and its disguise which came clothed as a picture of peace and comfort. I looked outside of my head and I chose the road less traveled.
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