Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2014. Waldschmidt’s consultancy and his “recently published” book Edgy Conversations are described as current as of that month.
Dan Waldschmidt is regarded as an excellent business strategist. His consulting firm, Waldschmidt Partners International, solves the most complex sales and marketing problems for companies around the world. He recently published the book Edgy Conversations, which tells 100 stories of ordinary people who went on to achieve success.
All success starts the same way: you set a goal, you work hard and you keep at it. There’s no other way to succeed. Everyone knows that succeeding in your career, in business, in sport and so on is hard, but few people quantify “how hard” it is or what exactly we mean by “hard”.
Waldschmidt thinks many people’s problem is that they try to sidestep difficulties, because hard things are the easiest things to avoid. But, as it turns out, that difficulty is exactly where success lies. He goes further: success is found in the things the vast majority aren’t doing, in the things that scare the masses, in the things that make you wonder how much longer you can hold out.
That’s why, proportionally, only a minority succeed. Quite simply, only a minority are willing to do the tough things that most people avoid out of fear or comfort. So if you want to succeed:
What are the hard things that will lead us to success?
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You’ll have to make that call you’re so afraid of making. (Read: Billy Joel’s piano man: why it pays to take more risks)
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You’ll have to get up earlier than you’d really like to. (Read: 15 habits and choices for success)
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You have to give more of yourself without expecting anything in the short term.
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You have to care more about the people who care about you. (On the road to success we sometimes forget the people who are supporting us, and we can end up alone.)
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You have to keep fighting even when you’re injured, bleeding and in pain. (Remember Rocky Balboa’s advice: “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”) (Read: 26 lessons to prepare your child for the real world)
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You have to keep going even though some have already stopped and others haven’t yet started following you.
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You have to invest in yourself, even if nobody appreciates that investment.
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You’ll have to look like a fool while you search for answers you don’t have.
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You’ll have to polish details when it would be much easier to shrug them off. (Read: If you want to succeed, stop going to the bathroom)
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You’ll have to deliver results, knowing that making excuses is an option, but not the option.
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You’ll have to find your own explanations, even when you’re told to accept the “facts”.
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You’ll have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.
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You’ll have to try, fail and try again.
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You’ll have to be kind even to people who have been cruel to you. (Read: 7 things the world’s most successful people have in common)
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You have to take responsibility for your actions even when things go wrong.
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You have to keep moving toward where you want to be, no matter what or who is in front of you.
Read: How to withstand failure
Featured image: Joshua Tree National Park, Public domain, via Flickr.
