Correct Steps Yield Correct Results

Almost everyone achieves something in order for something else to happen. We can observe that some people attain what they desire, while others do not—even when they act, they still fail to achieve what they want. The failure to obtain desired outcomes, as well as the success in obtaining them, is directly linked to the steps taken. Of course, this assumes that the attainment of desired results depends on the efforts of those seeking them.

Those who succeed do so because they take the right steps; those who fail do so because they do not take the right steps. Those who desire a result but fail to achieve it do so because their desires are not matched by the correct actions.

Someone who wants to harvest olives but plants apricot pits instead of olive pits will harvest apricots. A person who desires olives and plants olive pits but fails to provide the necessary conditions—sunlight, air, water, and so on—may still complain about not obtaining them. Yet they have no right to complain. Because just as countless events occur with near-perfect consistency when their required conditions are fulfilled, so too will the desired outcome follow when all necessary conditions are properly met.

If something does not happen, it is not because of the absence of unrelated factors, but because the necessary conditions have not yet been fulfilled or completed. There is always, without exception, a necessary step that has either not been taken or not fully carried out. This is because things happen precisely because their required conditions are fulfilled; they do not happen because their required conditions are not fulfilled.

The full cost of achieving what is desired must be paid. Sometimes this requires perseverance, sometimes time. The absolute truth is this: just as everything that exists has a cause, so too does everything that does not exist have a cause for its absence.

If taking the right steps leads to the right outcomes—which it has, does, and will—then those who take the right steps deserve peace of mind. They have fulfilled what was required, exactly as it should be done. Even if the desired outcome still does not materialize, they can say, “It did not happen because it was not meant to,” and remain at ease. They can now stretch out their legs and gaze peacefully at the sky. Because in truth, what needed to happen has already happened; the necessary conditions have been fulfilled. Therefore, someone who planted an olive pit intending to grow an olive tree and then properly fulfilled all other necessary conditions—sunlight, water, soil, care—can still accept with contentment that a sudden frost or hail prevented the harvest. These people know well that they have done what was required of them. What is required of them is not to guarantee the outcome, but to diligently fulfill what must be done. Even if they failed to fully complete what was required, they could still find peace, knowing they had done their part as it should be done.

If taking the right steps leads to the right outcomes—which it has, does, and will—then never retreat from taking them. Steps taken correctly become enduring and solid steps. Even if progress is slow, once your steps are firmly established, they will inevitably appear before you—do not fear.