Now I’m not usually one to use analogies like this, but I think with all the talk we’ve had recently of Goal Setting and so forth, this might be a useful analogy for you moving forward for the coming year. So to use this analogy, there are basically 2 types of people. “River” people, and “Rock” people.
The Rock Person.
The “Rock” is sedentary. It doesn’t move, it doesn’t go anywhere. It stays in one place, inflexible and unchanging. It stands in defiance of its environment and time but is ultimately shaped by time and the environment. The hands of time, water, wind and rain will gradually wear away at the Rock and shape it over time.
The River Person.
The River is a mover and shaker. It doesn’t stand still, it’s always on the move. The river is flexible and can adapt to its surroundings but ultimately the River will, in the end, shape its surroundings. The Grand Canyon was created by a River! The river is free flowing, the giver of life. The River is RELENTLESS, it just keeps going until it reaches its destination. Throughout time, Rivers have been the highways of industry, the thing that keeps economies moving, civilisations have thrived on the banks of Rivers and Towns and Cities have been born due to their proximity to a River.
Which type of person are you? Are you a Rock that is stuck in your ways, unable to change or adapt until life wears you away? Are you a River, free flowing and constant, able to adapt to your surroundings, flexible yet relentless, you keep going until you reach your Goal?
I believe we are all BORN as Rivers, but some BECOME Rocks. We are all born free flowing, and relentless. How do you think you learn to walk? You learn to walk because you are relentless, you keep trying UNTIL you succeed. That’s why it’s said that it’s just as well we learn to walk as babies, otherwise we probably never would. The ROCK mindset would try to walk a couple of times and then decide that it’s just too hard to walk and that you’ll never be able to do it.
So if we all start out as Rivers, how do some of us become Rocks? We become Rocks by being like Rocks. Rock people are inflexible, they don’t change, the do the same thing today as they did yesterday.
Personally, I proudly declare to the world that I am a River! I am RELENTLESS!! I am a River because I honour the fact that I, like everyone else, was born that way. I have constantly made the conscious choice throughout my life to BE a River and not allow myself to become a Rock. I started my first Business when I was 18. It wasn’t a huge success but it was a HUGE learning experience. Throughout my life I’ve experienced MASSIVE success and heartbreaking failures. But as Tony Robbins says, “There are no failures, only results!” Or to steal a line from Billy Joel, “If I see it as experience, it hasn’t gone to waste. Lately all the missing pieces have been falling in to place”.
I am where I am today because I’ve been like a River, I’ve been relentless, I’ve carved out a path and I never stop until I reach my Goal.
My question to you is, what kind of a person are you? Are you a Rock, do you sit unchanging, stubbornly watching life pass you by? Are you a River, are you constantly changing and evolving to embrace new things, moving through periods of peace and tranquillity and periods of white water rapids of life? You will from time to time have obstacles in your path, Rocks will try and stop you, but a River will not be bound. A Rock stuck in a River will be smoothed over by the relentless passing of the River. As we said before, The Grand Canyon was made by a River that refused to be stopped or bound, it continued RELENTLESSLY and changed its environment as it went.
Are you a River?
If you are a River, then boldly declare that to the world by proudly leaving a comment below, and don’t use small caps. Boldly and proudly declare that you are a RIVER !!!!
Are you a Rock?
GREAT NEWS!!! Our transformational programs can unleash the potential that is within you, empower you to overcome the problems of the past and dynamically transform you into the River that you were born to be. Check out our website for more information on the programs that we offer.