From The Basement to the Balcony

From The Basement to the Balcony

The basement is the place where things are stored. Old memories; boxes and boxes full of dust covered relics that used to mean something. They use to be valuable. They don’t necessarily have much of a value on the open market, but there can be a sentimental value there. They are valuable to YOU, so they are stored in boxes in the basement. The basement is typically partially or completely below ground level. The lowest level, in most structures, will house the boiler, fuse box, water heater. etc. There are exceptions, but the basement is not normally where you want to spend all of your time. It can be damp, infested and filled with many other unpleasant things. . .

. . .including memories of days gone by. Memories of what could have been, if only something had been different.

Human beings can have such a vivid, long term memory of incidents that seemingly have shaped their lives to the point that they can’t get past those specific memories. You and I have both heard it, “If only that hadn’t happened to me, I would be so much further ahead, today!” I will quickly add that there are cases where statements like that can be painfully true, but there too many cases where holding on to a memory can be nothing but a crutch. It becomes an excuse as to why nothing is being accomplished.

“I am like I am because of my childhood”. “I made a bad investment, and lost everything.” “I am an abuser because my father was an abuser.” There is no doubt that unfortunate events and situations in our lives have a huge impact on what we do, say and become, but when an individual chooses to dwell on the past and take no action to change the present, it becomes a ‘mindset’ problem. If you ever are going to break a cycle, or change a situation, you MUST get out of the basement mentally!!

All of us have tried things that didn’t work. We have bought into ideas that accomplished nothing. We have bought courses that didn’t help at all. We have spent years, in some cases, learning to think like a marketer and honing our craft to the point where it is today.

FAILURE IS NOT FATAL!

The time spent sharpening a blade, is NOT wasted time. Time spent learning your craft should be viewed as education and the money spent on courses, case studies and seminars should simply be viewed as ‘tuition’. Thomas Edison said, “I didn’t fail 10,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 10,000 steps.”

Steps!

In order to get out of the basement, one must take the necessary steps. There is no way to get from the basement to the balcony without taking the steps! Some can take the steps two at a time and get there quicker than others, but most of us have to take them one at a time to eventually arrive on the ground floor and then on the balcony. It’s going to take a while. It will take a lot of effort. It will require determination to leave the basement and arrive on the balcony!

A balcony is a platform projecting from the wall of a building either inside or outside with a grand view of the things below. Nice hotels can have a balcony overlooking the ocean, or some other scenic view. Many large auditoriums will have a balcony that hangs over the main floor(s) and allows a view of a performance like no other spot! Even nice homes can have a balcony overlooking the lower levels of the residence.

From the balcony, one can see the ‘big picture’. The problems of the past are a distant memory, at least for the moment, and the view is one of hope and a bright future. The clutter of yesterday’s set backs are stored far below in the basement. The balcony is where you will find yourself after you have climbed all those steps to get out of the basement. You will be able to see clearly and realize just how far you have come on your journey and learn to appreciate those boxes stored in the basement that helped get you to where you are.

Many of life's failures happen to people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up!

On the way from the basement to the balcony, you will encounter the family room, where the game is on and your favorite team is playing. Sometimes you may have to give up, temporarily, some things that you really enjoy to reach the place where your business just seems to run effortlessly.

On the way from the basement to the balcony, you will most likely pass the bedroom where you will be tempted to rest instead of pursuing your dreams. You may find yourself working some very late nights, grinding away on projects that take a lot of your time and seem to never end.

You will pass through the kitchen where there are many distractions and, if you aren’t careful, you will spend so much time there that you fail to do the things that are required of you to reach the balcony.

You CAN reach the Balcony!! But you have to set your mind to it, take the necessary steps, not be distracted and never give up. You CAN have a successful business!! But you have to set your mind to it, take the necessary steps, not be distracted and never give up.

You CAN reach the place where you have a clear picture of your business, your mission, your purpose and your goals. From the balcony, you can see from where you have come and also where you are heading. The view is pretty spectacular from the balcony!

I am trying to encourage you to keep on keeping on! The main thing is to keep the ‘main thing’ the main thing! Don’t lose hope, don’t be discouraged, don’t lose your vision and don’t lose sight of your dreams and goals.

Don’t spend any more time than is necessary in the basement! Take action! Do whatever it takes to start the climb from the basement to the balcony!

Terry Gunn
Originally posted on ScatteredDucks.com