Imagine thirty thousand menacing obstacles in your path to success.
You're dehydrated. Hungry as hell. And wobbling like a drunk on too much Guinness. Your eyes hurt, your head throbs and your will is all but broken. You're not even sure you want to go on.
You feel like Frodo.
As in the character Frodo, from the ‘Lord of the Rings-The Return of the King.'
Terror and dismay gleam from Frodo's big, expressive blue eyes. In the distance, he can see his goal. But it seems to him like he'll never get there. He turns to Sam and says in a defeated tone, “Sam, it's the Eye,” referring to the eye of Sauron – the enemy he must destroy.
And Sam turns to Frodo in a soft, encouraging voice and says, “Let's just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.”
Let's just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.
I spoke at the World Internet Summit in Sydney, Australia, a few years ago. And I saw about two hundred and fifty Frodos in the audience.
Confused. Weary. Inundated with dozens of tactics and strategies about the Internet, their eyes stared into nothingness. Frozen stiff at the task of having to build an Internet business from scratch, almost all of them seemed to have a cross too heavy to bear.
And they didn't exactly have Sam to egg them on.
I said to them, like I say to you. “Let's just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo.” Then we'll do the next hill, and the next and the next, till we get to our destination.
You're bound to be struggling. I struggled at Yoga class. I'm a first-class doofus. Five minutes after we start the class, I wonder when it's all going to end. I look at the ‘human pretzels' twisting and turning to the left and right of me, and I can't ever see myself being so flexible. And I despair.
But I've got my own personal Sam. I simply say to myself:”Let's just get to the bottom of this hill, Mr.Frodo”
And hurrah, yippeee yahooey, I actually made it past Yoga session No.2.
Thanks, Sam. That’s exactly how I was feeling. Onward to the bottom of the hill…
This message was exactly what I needed to read, exactly when I needed it. I find myself facing the Eye, and without a Sam. Being reminded that all I need to do is take the next step, keep putting one foot in front of the other, everything will be exactly how it’s supposed to be. Thanks, Sean.
Sean, thank you SO much for this article. The timing is uncanny. It comes at a perfect time!
This is a great reminder that if you believe in your cause, stay the course. Ultimately, the lesson here is that you don’t have to go it alone. Have people around you that can help you get to where you want to go.
Thanks. This reminds me of a line I heard from a US soldier on the Butan death march in WW2 (from the series “Hell in the Pacific,” on which the Japanese made the prisoners trudge without respite, and which killed many). His response was (unlike others who took the all or nothing option) that if he just made it to the next rise, then he would be fine, or to the next heard of buffalo, then that is enough, then to the next hill, etc.
The point, which you illustrated quite well from the LOR, is that we can actually only do one thing at a time, so we should only psychologically laden our minds with only one thing at a time.
Cheers
Troy.
P.S. I am enjoying working through the 2004 Los Angeles Brain Alchemy material – one step at a time!
Very timely boost. It’s so true. I often look at what’s piling up around me. I find one of the best things is to
1) concentrate on the task at hand, and only that,
2) if you have 30 things to do, pick the 3 that you know will fulfill your day’s needs and leave you feeling that you did a good job for you, your team, and your company,
3) pick the most important/least desirable ones first and OWN them until they are done.
4) be patient and persistent until done.
5) learn to live with occassional interruptions and embrace the necessary ones. We live in a connected world.
The core issue is FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!
Funny, I thought the same thing when I watched the series again over the holidays. Of course Frodo had a little more motivation than your average marketer, the survival of Middle Earth 🙂
There’s another scene I really like, when they’re in the mines of Moria and Frodo & Gandalf are discussing the ring:
Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times; but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
Basically:
Play the hand you’re dealt and have faith you will prevail
A great service, whether or not you buy from Sean, he is responding appropriately with his skewed view of the world. He does it as ‘1 size does NOT fit all.’
This is great advice! Information overload is something that paralyzes a great number of people especially in the internet marketing industry. Lots of time, you don’t know what to do and your goal seems so far away. Next time I feel like that I will think of Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings. Plus, I’m a big fan of this movie! 🙂
That’s exactly how I feel when I’m running a long distance race.
Whenever I feel I’m just going to faint from the physical effort, I just start playing tricks on my head like:
“Let’s just make it to that next corner, okay one more, okay let’s just get past that hot looking girl”
And so on until I reach the finish line! LOL
I know it sounds a bit weird but it works amazing for me. 😉
Sergio
I’m a big fan of LOTR, looking forward for the latest movie but I think about running analogies.
Hobbit is coming in December 🙂
Good tip, looks like we all needed it 🙂 We could also add.. “And don´t change the final destination, let´s finish this one first.”
I’m reminded of the saying “By the yard, life is hard. By the inch, it’s a cinch.”
Sean, you are so awesome and inspiring! I appreciate you so much.
🙂
Just do the next thing. That’s it.