I don't know a person that doesn't want something instantly. Instant messaging,
instant love, instant dating, instant coffee, instant everything.
What is there in the world that you now can't get instantly? Instant cabs,
instant movies, whatever it is, everything's instant. And that's
programming us to want things quicker, faster, and we're losing the one human
trait that can actually be the foundation of success, which is patience.
Patience is the opposite of instant and as things become more instant, we lose the
very thing that helps us grow. If you've seen the movie Limitless, there's this
great point in this movie where Robert De Niro is talking to Bradley Cooper,
and Robert De Niro says to him, "I have no idea how you've got this tendency,
but it's too quick and you haven't earned it and because you haven't earned it,
you don't know how to manage it. You don't know how to deal with it."
And because Bradley Cooper, in that movie, he's just taken a pill that makes him
smart, and that's what instant fame is like. That's what instant wisdom is like.
That's why research shows that if you win the lottery or you win one of these
gambling pieces and you end up with millions of pounds or dollars or whatever
it may be, those people end up being broke. So much research suggests that a
year later after winning something instantly, most people lose it or waste it
because when we get things without work, without ethics, without values,
we don't know how to value what we've gained. So that's the challenge.
If you want something instantly, know that you'll lose it as instantly.
If you work towards something, know that you know how to value it and cherish it,
and that's how people are in their relationships. I know so many people,
girls and boys, who'd say to me, "I was dating this person but they treated me
badly." And one of the reasons that person treats you badly is because they've never
really had someone as amazing as you to take care of before so they don't know
what that means. And maybe they didn't chase you enough, maybe they didn't work
hard to get you, maybe you made it too easy and when that's happened, that person
doesn't value what you're giving them. So I think that your...
It's equal proportion. Without patience, struggle, hard work, developing the right
characteristics and values, even if you get to where you want to,
it's not sustainable. It won't stay.