The journey...

Success is a journey, not a result. I don't think many people, many teams wake up and walk into greatness, walk into championships, walk into money, or even walk into their wildest dreams.

I was told by a great coach that success is indeed built toward day by day, bit by bit. You don't have to tell me twice, I'm a believer.

The journey is hard. I look at my current situation, this leg of the trip as you might call it, and I'll be the first to admit parts of it are pretty bad. I won an Emmy Award last spring, and now I don't even work on TV.

Two weeks ago, I took a chance. I decided that emailing my resume and cover letter was not enough, and since the job was at a college nearby, I got in my car and went. On my way to apply for that job, a great coaching opportunity by the way, a tractor trailer had a blowout and the tire debris came bouncing through traffic. I am very blessed to have gotten through unscathed, but needless to say the hundreds of dollars of minor damages to my car is a tough pill to swallow. Here I am, struggling to pay the bills as it is, trying to take the next step and show initiative, and then I end up losing money at the end of the day.

How do you respond to that? It's easy to get discouraged, although for me quitting is never an option. Like everything else, it happened that I was in that spot at the wrong time because that's where God wanted me to be. I haven't even heard about the job, probably won't, and while I got to meet some great new people in the process, I still have the thought in the back of my head that maybe I shouldn't have gone, especially if the result, AKA not getting the job, was a foregone conclusion.

So, the journey an be rough. Remember that. I have said it before though, that the hard times make the great ones feel that much better. God requires that we weather the storm to prove that we belong. Sure, there are plenty who don't belong, but those who earn things value them more when they get them. Strangely, and surprisingly, I'm a better coach for going through this ordeal. I'm not quite sure how yet, but I believe that one day I'll share this story after a huge win, knowing that I might not appreciate it so much if I didn't have to overcome along the way.

Some days, you feel like you're on top of the world, and others, you feel like you've hit rock bottom. I suspect that for most of us, most days are in the middle. The challenge.... figure out how to make more of those days the top of the world variety. Along the way, you might have a few more rock bottom moments, but you have to take chances to get to the top.

Don't be satisfied, be hungry. Live in your own reality. Remember that you have the capacity to be great, but earning that success is a journey. Be willing to pay the price, wipe the dirt off your brow, and keep moving.

Thanks for reading and sharing, follow me on twitter, @travisponton.