I was at a ropin’ in Bosque County in Whitney, Texas. Prior to the roping I was sitting in the box as they ran the steers through while putting the wraps on and letting my horse score.
I overheard a conversation between a young college age boy and an older man he was talking to. The older man asked what he was studying in college and the young mans reply was “I don’t know.” I’m just doing generals right now.
The old man asked if the kid knew what he wanted to go into and he said he didn’t know but he felt confident because he had so many options.
Their conversation went on to other things and my mind was stuck on the fact this kid was spending thousands of dollars on an education that he had no goal for.
This is America, this is the greatest country in the world and part of the problem is that we have too many options. There is always a plan B and plan B’s job is to make sure plan A fails.
We must first know who we are and what road we want to take before we set down that particular road towards success.
How do we know which road to take?
That’s simple. You simply start eliminating the roads you don’t want to take.
In order to know who we are we must first know who we are not.
So we start eliminating what we don’t want, we take the stuff we don’t want or what we don’t need out of our lives. And through the simple process of elimination, we end up finding our road and our own journey and destination. Keeping in mind the goal is to never ever really be there. Life is a journey, not a destination. Each goal is a stepping stone to the next.
You all remember Bo Jackson. He used to run into the end zone, passed the goal post and up the tunnel. Knowing that he always went farther than expected.
Knowing who we are is hard. It’s hard. Knowing who we are not should be easy. Then, through the process of elimination, we inadvertently put ourselves where we need to be.
I can’t tell you who YOU are. But you can certainly tell me who you are not.
When I was a young man all I wanted to do was ride horses and rope and cut and do ranch work. Just like my grandpa.
My father is a very successful insurance salesman. He’s good at what he does and he wanted to to choose a career that put me in an office and put me in an elite tax bracket.
I didn’t want that. My grandpa told me that no amount of money could buy happiness. So I took his advice and eliminated all other options.
You ever wonder why them Brazilian boys ride so tuff in the PBR? They ain’t got no other options. They spent all they had to get to America and they either win or starve to death. Plan B is a pine box.
To be the best you’ll have to put your head down and go to work. Focus on one thing and one thing only and go for that one thing. Let’s take roping for example (seeing how’s everyone here seems to like roping).
Gold buckles ain’t won in steakhouses or honky tonks
When all your buddies go to the bar or out to eat, the champ stays home to practice, work his horses and exercise. Yes, being physically fit and not overweight is a big part of being an athlete.
It also programs your brain for winning. I personally think 90% of our life’s successes or failures are dictated by our stomachs. If we can win the war with our hunger, we can mentally conquer so many other obstacles.
When you eliminate the money spending, when you eliminate the social hours, when you eliminate the wasted time, when you eliminate the things you don’t want to do, you end up in a very great position.
Eagles fly alone. Geese fly in flocks.
I would bet if most people followed Wesley Thorp or Clay Smith around, they would be worn out and hungry by mid morning.
Those guys eliminate all other unnecessary things from their life and they work. They dedicate theirselves to winning.
Being overweight and broke and unhappy also takes the same amount of dedication. I’ve seen folks with the above mentioned problems hit the brakes at 80 mph for a meal at Taco Bell, all while being 30 minutes from home. You spend time, money and practice the bad habits, just the same as Chad Masters would practice the good habits.
Walk away from that which ails you. Put your head down and go to work.
Racehorses wear blinders, because they only focus on their race. The eliminate all other sights but the finish line.
Work so hard that someone has to tap you on the shoulder and say good job, you won. Let someone else say game over, time to go home. Let someone else say “good job, you scored.” Let your spouse say “I love you too.”
Never stop swinging until they ring the bell and always play like an underdog.
From somewhere down in Texas,
Scott Hulme
