There’s a point in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (remember that book from 9th grade English?) when Bill asks Mike, the ridiculous, inappropriate, hard-charging war veteran, how he went bankrupt.

Mike simply responds, “Gradually and then suddenly.”

As I’ve come to realize, many things in life happen the same way Mike lost all of his money — slowly and then all at once.  Mike’s conversation has since been spun a million times across love stories, news articles, and business books, but it remains one of my favorite quotes of all time.

His response illustrates how deceiving your habitual actions, and more importantly the passing of time, can be in the grand scheme of your life.

In today’s blog, I don’t want to talk about losing anything but rather the psychology behind gaining everything.  The process of growth is just as deceiving as loss, and I’m afraid a combination of the media and technology has glamorized success at the expense of us all.

With every new heroic movie and startup that crosses the billion dollar threshold, we continue to lose touch with just how freakin’ hard it is to grow.  It’s really really hard.

Growth Is a Deceivingly Slow Process:  Since it’s Father’s Day, I encourage you to ask you dad this evening to describe watching you grow up.

The memories and language will be different, but I guarantee the theme of the conversation will be something along the lines of…  “It seems like just yesterday I was throwing baseballs with you, taking you to ballet practice, single-handedly doing your entire 3rd grade science fair project, etc.”

It seems like just yesterday.

It probably seems like just yesterday Brian Chesky was knocking on doors in New York City trying to figure out how to get a HANDFUL of people to open up their homes to strangers.  A mere 8 years later, over 150 million people have used Airbnb to stay with people they’ve never met before.

That’s a big number, right?  Guess what else is a big number?  2,920.  That’s how many days are in 8 years.  Brian and his team had to roll out of bed 2,920 days in a row and slog through unimaginable criticism and do things that scared the hell out of them to get to where they are today.

Sound sexy?  You and I probably would’ve quit on day 90.

You Can’t Do It Alone:  Flashback to Mike and Bill in The Sun Also Rises…  If you continue reading past Mike’s response, you’ll see that he blames his friends for much of his demise.

Just like the people you surround yourself with can ruin your life, they are also instrumental in propelling you to the next level.  You can’t do anything productive alone.

There’s a great indie movie that just came out called Tracktown that was Co-Directed by 27-year-old Olympic runner, Alexi Pappas.  The characters are quirky, but the movie provides an interesting glimpse into the mentality of a world-class athlete.

The thing that most struck me is the focus of the storyline.  Rather than highlighting the technicalities of training, almost the entire movie is centered on people — the runner’s relationship with her father, coach, boyfriend, and teammates, all of whom want nothing more than to see her succeed.

Who are these people in your life, and how are they helping you grow?

Where I’m At:  If you’ve made it this far, thank you.  I now have something personal to ask of you that I haven’t brought up in the past 2.5 months of weekly blogging.

I too am at a point where I need your help.  I can’t do this alone.

If you find what I’m doing valuable, I encourage you to share it with people who might benefit as well:  www.austinrhoads.com/subscribe

Lastly, please do keep your comments, suggestions, and words of wisdom coming.  Reading everyone’s responses on Monday morning is one of my favorite times of the week.

See you next Sunday at 8:30pm.  🙂