“The road to success is always under construction”

The first time I saw this comment was on a sticker I got from a neighbor as part of a gift package for doing well in high school. At that time I didn’t think anything of it because I never read meaningfully. But now I truly understand what it means, and I want to share it with you.

Let’s take apart this quote “The road to success is always under construction”.

Construction immediately translates to building something. What are we building? What is the measure of success? Does he mean it figurative or realistically? When will my road be complete? It was only in college that I analyzed this statement, daily asking myself, “What am I building”?

What am I building?

It took me a while to realize what I wanted in life. That was the moment I figured out what I was building. I was building a life that I can be proud of and live in and for. Before I came to this conclusion I battled with made thoughts and various avenues.

My brother is a civil engineer and he always complains about improperly built foundations. So, I thought to use his teaching and apply it to my construction roadmap refer to as “success”. Very obvious, I know. The framework I came up with

Childhood = Education, Education = Job, Job = Work, Work = Money and Money = Good life.

What I hadn’t recognized was my parents probably had this same framework in mind. Only after drawing this out physically that I realized why they were so encouraging and constantly give gentle nudges to be your best in school.

THERE IS A SAD PART: Something the opportunity to construct the foundation or to build a strong foundation was given to at all. Giving up hope is never an option. There are ways to pick up, reinforce and strengthen that foundation. There is no easy road in this direction. It will take commitment and lots of work, build from then on you will have a strong road to walk on.

The measure of success

Success is based upon the goals that you set out. After constructing the foundation it is now time to add on the outer walls, well that is how I thought of it. My ultimate goal is to help others through my job. That was when I decided I want to become a doctor. That way the moment I set up goals to get to the ultimate goal and complete medicine.

I did not construct daily goals, instead, I tailored them to reflect my achievements yearly. This method thought me 3 valuable lessons:

Always have a backup plan to get to your goals. Yes in everything updo always have a backup plan.

Always re-evaluate and make the necessary adjustment. Being rigid is not always helpful to you. Many of the most successful persons and beautiful buildings can adapt to changes and keep them going.

Remember working on the goal is not changing the outcome. There are many changes that happen in 12 months that will force you to rework the current plan. Don’t be afraid to do so.

I stuck to my goals as much as I could., however, when the pandemic hit things were sidetracked for a few months. But thank God, I am on track now.

Where am I going?

The direction you are steering toward is your own. No one should influence this decision because it is you who has to live in the destination. I have always heard the saying, “ It’s or where you are going, it’s where you end up” I believe it’s both. You can change the destination and the path and the route there, just as long as it gets you to your ultimate goal.

When I finish my undergraduate I had a plan for how I wanted to complete my MD. I had to make a few adjustments when I was about to start. Then 2 years after starting I had to readjust again. And 4 years later I am officially an MD, but I’m or working yet.

This isn’t the end of the construction roadmap “Success”, in fact, it is far from finished.

What you should take away from my experience.

The road to success will always be under construction. Construction starts in childhood, where we are thought academics and morals that form the foundation of the success we want to have in life. As we mature, the blueprint is refined and the outcome is brought into perspective. Along with the way adjustment and refinements areas the journey changes. But the 1 thing that never changes is the ultimate goal for where you want to be when you get older.

Always teach the generation behind you, with your words, and actions how to build the foundation for the road to success.

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