I’ll bet that caption got your attention! We all want to be successful, however we define success. Somebody asked me the other day how to become successful, and I thought I would share my answer with you.
I’ve watched many interviews with successful people (defined as those who achieved their goal – whether it was fame, fortune, athletic prowess, etc). They all seem to have one attribute in common, and it’s one that makes me uncomfortable, and probably you, as well.
They made a decision, and they stuck to it when it got hard.
Obviously, skill plays a part for most people – Kawhi Leonard, for example, didn’t help the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA title just by making a decision. His skills on the court are legendary.
But the decision that he took, back when he was young, to invest his time in practice, in coaching, in becoming the best basketball player he could be, even when he didn’t feel like it, was undoubtedly the most important factor in his eventual success.
What about luck? I like to quote Louis Pasteur, who is said to have said that Fortune favours the prepared mind. What does that mean?
It means that there are always opportunities, there is always luck, things are always happening. But who sees them and seizes upon them? Someone who has made the decision to be prepared, to follow the path they have chosen no matter what the setbacks. Everyone has setbacks, too. Everyone. What do you do when they happen? Do you give up, or do you put your head down and keep going anyway? Do you keep honing your skills, falling down and getting up again, time and time again?
Did I mention that this makes me very uncomfortable?
You might be feeling the same way. We don’t like to be told that the most important factor in our success, however we define it, is our decision to go after it even when it’s not convenient.
It takes away all of our ability to blame others, for one thing. Lots of people are born in terrible circumstances, life is not fair, the system is rigged against immigrants and women and people of colour, people with disabilities are often shut out. People get sick. The education system sucks. The world is full of racism and classism and Islamophobia and antisemitism, etc., etc. This is all true.
And yet, some people make it. They become world-class athletes or musicians or actors or business people. They achieve their dreams. How are they different from others who were born in the same circumstances, but didn’t make it?
They made a decision, and they stuck with it until they were successful. As Steve Martin said, Be so good they can’t ignore you.
Of course they had support and accountability and coaching, and eventually, people who believed in them and opened doors for them. But without their own steely determination to pursue their goal, none of that would have happened.
As someone who was born into privilege in many ways, and took many decades to find a goal I considered worth pursuing, I assure you that I don’t like the above any more than you do. But it is the honest answer to the question.
If you got value from this blog post, please share it! I’d love to hear back from you if you have thoughts on this – agreeing or disagreeing, they are all good.