As an ad to sell cars, it appears fairly useless. However, read it slowly. Really think about it and pay close attention to what it's saying. It's a little hard to process because of the “lingo” that was common back then. Nowadays it is antiquated gibberish, but it has a very important meaning inside the message that goes WAY beyond 'Cadillac'.
The headline read 'The Penalty of Leadership' and here's what it said:
“In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work.
“In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man's work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be merely mediocre, he will be left severely alone - if he achieve a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging.
“Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass, or to slander you, unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done; those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it can not be done.
“Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountebank, long after the big world had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by.
“The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy, but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant.
“There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions: envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains - the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live - lives.”
This is a reminder of what Detroit-born former heavyweight boxer Joe Louis once said, 'Everybody wants to get to heaven but nobody wants to die to get there.' Vince Lomabardi said it this way, “You’ve got to pay the price.”
The reality is this: everyone wants to reach the top, to be the best, the leader… but few are willing to pay the price to achieve this goal. Instead, they prefer to criticize and ridicule, jealous with envy instead of keeping their own eye on the ball. On your journey to the top, beware the critic. In fact, you'll know you're close once you start hearing them whispering behind you.
The same holds true in the area of health and fitness. You may have even heard the envy and jealousy behind the so-called well meaning comments of family or friends, “Are you sure you’re not working out too hard?” “You sure are losing a lot of weight. Is everything O.K.?” “I wish I could look as good as you.”
Keep this quote from Glenn Turner in mind: "Many statues have been erected to the criticized. None have been erected honoring critics."
The Firestorm Fit Camps can get you the body, health, fitness and wellness you desire, deserve and yearn for. But you'll have to do the work necessary.
All the information is just a click away, right here.
Are you going to take the challenge or instead listen to the critics in your life?
Steve
