DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO TRY.

By Bradley Wynn

Yoda got it right when he uttered the simple statement of “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Think about it.

How many times have you wanted something so bad in life but years later find yourself still struggling for or living without it? How hard did you really “Do” what was needed to get it done? Or did you fall back on what so many of us use as the ultimate cliché excuse, “Well, at least I tried!”

If there is one thing I’ve learned about starting a small business, it’s that you have to be bold and always move forward – no matter the odds. If you try – you fail. I couldn’t try to start a business. I either made it work or I didn’t, losing all that I invested in the process.

Captain James T. Kirk was once asked how he knew he would succeed. He stated that he didn’t like to lose. That he didn’t believe in a no-win scenario. When the rules say you’re going to lose, change the rules.

I’ve tried to live by such boldness. My wife gets irritated with me when I don’t follow the rules, yet manage to get us in a better place or in through doors previously closed to us. I simply tell her that everyone stays off the grass, making the sidewalks too full of everyone doing what everyone else is doing, leaving no chance for individual success.

If you want or need to get from point A to point B, the most logical choice is to take the most direct route. This means you’ll have to walk on the grass. The only reason grass is there at all, is that no one wanted to make their own path to begin with – hence the path less traveled by – making all the difference.

Life is too short. Les Brown, probably my favorite public speaker, once said that if you aren’t getting where you think you should be, then what is it you aren’t willing to do?

So, whatever your goal, dream, or desire – you have to earn it. If you want it bad enough you’ll do it. If not, then at least “you tried!”