Breakthroughs

Breakthroughs are rarely the result of a throw of the dice or a thump of the spinner.  Rather, breakthroughs are most often the province of the disciplined and the diligent.

We prepare the ground for breakthroughs by seeking the guidance of those who have forged the path ahead of us, by voraciously consuming the information documented by those same folks, by steadily honing our craft, by persistently revising our prototypes, and by committing ourselves to learning from as many sources as possible.  

Sometimes, after much trial and error, "breakthroughs" occur.  Sometimes they evade us.  If, however, we've held diligently to the recipe described above, we win.  Breakthrough or not.  

If, on the other hand, we choose to let others do the work, we watch passively as the more unwavering do the research, we cast our hopes on luck and chance, we'll likely go to our grave waiting on the breakthrough.

The real breakthrough is in realizing our fullest potential, breakthrough not.