Dog bite

My favorite books are autobiographies, biographies, and memoir. Additionally I record the television series “Biography” every day and watch as many of them as I have time to watch.

One thing that I have discovered is that it is no accident that all of these highly successful folks accomplished so much in life. I watched the biography of David Hasselhoff the other day. He became the most successful television star ever and at its peak 1.4 BILLION people watched the TV series, “Bay Watch” that he starred in every day.

The acting bug hit him at the young age of seven, and although acting is all he ever really wanted to do, he was extraordinarily shy and couldn’t even give a speech in front of his class. His strong desire to act enabled him to overcome that fear, but if it were not for being perseverant in other areas too he would have never made it to first base. He attended several acting schools and that experiment failed miserably and he moved to southern California. He was waiting tables, but was faithfully sending out thousands of letters to agents and anyone else he could think of on a daily basis. Finally an agent agreed to see him.

When he arrived the agent, a rude old woman, was smoking a cigar and had a little dog in her office which promptly bit him on the leg. She was rudely berating him and when the exasperated Hasselhoff attempted to complain to her she told him to shut up, that she was going to make him a star. He shut up and she got him a job acting. He ended up starring on a soap opera for ten years, then starred in the popular TV show “Night Rider” and finally mega success with “Bay Watch”.

Was he lucky?

Those thousands of letters of perseverance panned out.

I had someone tell me the other day that I was “lucky” to live on Honey lake Plantation and be able to enjoy all of its splendor. While I do feel blessed of God and thankful to Him for enabling me to accomplish great things through His Son Jesus Christ, (including buying Honey Lake), I also realize that the Bible says, “I” can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and not, “Christ will do all things for me because He loves me and I’m such a great person”.

The harder that I work and the more perseverant that I am, the “luckier” I become. David Hasselhoff and the myriad of other success stories out there usually all have the common denominator of having a strong desire to succeed NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS and although they might get a little discouraged when it doesn’t happen on the first thousand or so attempts they do not give up and definitely use their incredible work ethic to keep slugging it out until it does.

Review any of the football greats who hold the most records and they are tenacious in their pursuit of excellence, often being the first on the practice field and the last to leave. This philosophy works, but work is undeniably difficult.

I know that in my own search for excellent people I have encountered countless people who seem to think the world owes them a living without their having to sacrifice what it takes to get there. It doesn’t! And if they want to get there, they will need to sacrifice and yes work when they want to play!

If you want to succeed at anything it requires setting goals mustering resolve to accomplish them, and hard work getting there. Put it all together and you will amaze yourself at how lucky you become. Believe the Bible.

Phil.4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.