In something you choose to do, you shall likely find success.
The chances are, you have not found it yet.
And equally so, you may not be doing that thing in which you shall find success with.
The key here is patience, and also working hard at what you love. Putting in the effort. Knowing when you are barking up the wrong tree and finding that other tree to bark up. Changing things up. Refocusing. Making adjustments. Listening to your audience. Finding a new audience if the old one isn't listening.
Humbling yourself and accepting the fact that your greatness alone isn't why people follow you.
It is your ability to deliver the things which they love.
You can't be a part of their lives if you don't offer anything.
So you have to find that thing which kindles your passions and deliver. To be the waitress who brings food to the table with a smile and a nice little comment that brings another smile to your guests. And then be able to turn around and treat that next table full of hungry people just as special as the last, as if this was your first table in the day.
All the way up until closing time.
And then get up again tomorrow and do the same, all over again.
It is a surrender, in a way, but a surrender to the things which you love. People see that. People appreciate that. People trust that. You flick that switch in their minds that says "I like her" or "I get good service here" and that normally cynical perception we are all born with fades a little. You give a part of yourself, and people respond.
One of the things in which we fight is carelessness. The Internet is full of careless, callous people. We come out into this world with out defenses up, and everyone is automatically guilty. We post words with a hand behind our back, ready to defend ourselves against people having a bad day and wanting to dump all over someone to get a reaction out of them. For no other reason for them than it is fun to watch people get angry. Epic rants. Trolling. Flame wars.
People have become so jaded and their emotions so calloused that these things are a source of joy for some people.
You even see it in the news we watch, stories intended to get you angry and then provide no solutions. At times the news seems so made up and artificial that all it seems it wants to do is incite instead of inform. Fake news is old news. How about news trolls? Come and read this, let's hike your blood pressure by ten points, and then you can go one your way, your day a little more ruined and your outlook on life a little more darker and worse for the wear. Here are some stupid people, look at how stupid they are, okay are you angry yet?
Come back tomorrow for another dose.
Oh, and click on the ads while you are here.
And you wonder why it is so hard to be a good waitress, or even a happy content customer sitting at that table. We end up in this world full of pissed-off hungry people and waitresses so used to getting attacked they do their job with guarded hearts and careful words. We are afraid to open ourselves up for fear of being attacked. We are afraid to show kindness because someone will come along and piss on our outstretched hand, point at our urine-soaked digits, and laugh at us with their friends.
Often because rudeness is considered a performance art to some.
And entertainment for others.
But there are people waiting for what we do at other tables. People that are sick of the laugh-out-loud world and honestly looking for someone to come along, share a smile, and deliver something, anything to them to enjoy. A book. A story. A picture. A song or two. They don't ask for much, except perhaps consistency and the ability to deliver on a schedule, and possibly an ever-increasing commitment to improvement and quality.
So you wash the piss from your hands, shake your head, and serve that next table as if it was your first in the day and that table full of jerks and rude people never existed. You put on your smile, brush yourself off, and say 'good morning' to the next table waiting for you to help them.
You learn to forget a little.
You learn the impossible ability to reset your emotions.
Yes, you are a little hardened and jaded by now, because not a lot gets to you, but you can recognize those people who honestly are looking for someone to brighten their day. They come to your place to see what you offer, and yes, you have to offer something for people to come, but you do your best and put on a smile as they take a seat and wait to see what you have for them today.
Each and every day.
Served up with a smile.
Because this is where you want to be.
And you have to make yours a place where people want to be.
I think that is one of those keys to success, the ability to turn around, look at your place of business, and say to yourself, "Why do people come here?" You have to give them a reason why, deliver often and with consistency, have a sharp looking site, interact, smile, laugh, give them a reason to laugh, and then deliver up the goods.
Then you have to ask yourself, "Why would someone want to come back here?"
Despite the world in which we live, a place where negativity washes upon our notifications like tsunamis of hate, to be able to turn around and deliver what it is you do with a smile. To do so every day. And to reset your expectations and emotions with every snide remark and viscous attack which you know isn't 'personal' (or it may be), and then set out the next time, and the next customer, treating them as if they were your first.
It is a part of the job of being an entertainer.
Someone who delivers a service people want to bring into their world.
You need to entertain.
You need to deliver.
You need to invite people into your world.
And you need them to keep coming back.
If you were that person sitting at the table of the place of which you created, what would you want to see?
Be the person you serve.
And smile every once and a while.
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