We have written a great many articles about achieving success, in business as well as in your personal life and your career. I would single out two that complement each other perfectly.
One of them is about choices, because success comes from a set of habits and choices that people make at a given moment and keep making consistently (Read: 15 habits and choices for success).
The second is the 25 habits found in successful people, one of our most-read articles and one that other media have often reproduced. But I think both articles would be incomplete without a few other questions, which are the ones we look at today.
This article came out of some reader comments whose replies gave me food for thought, and each point leads into the next.
1. Don’t rely on luck
We often get into debates about whether luck exists. Sometimes luck is described as opportunities turning up, although it’s more common to talk about luck as “being in the right place at the right time”.
The truth is that, after looking back at the careers of many of today’s most successful people, they certainly were in the right place at the right time, because they created the perfect moment and place themselves. In fact, every innovative entrepreneur started out precisely in the wrong place and at the wrong time. They made both things happen.
In the same way, the truly lucky are not blessed with the gift of opportunity. They create their own opportunity when it doesn’t come along. They are constantly working to find dozens of opportunities. They knock on dozens of doors, and probably only one of them opens. And that takes us to the next point.
2. Falling short
Although we use the word “failure”, what we should really say is “falling short”. Everyone falls short, and most people admit it without any problem, but few are willing to admit that they have failed.
Failure, or falling short, seen this way (knocking on 10 doors and only one opening) is not so bad, because here it really is part of the process of success. And since you are not a failure until you stop trying, success consists of knocking on doors until one of them opens. Then the rest of the world will admire you for how you got that door to open, and people will forget how hard it was while you were knocking on the other nine that stayed shut. But that was part of your path to success. Some people will call it luck, but only you will know the effort and sweat it took.
“To succeed, you only need to do a couple of things right, as long as you haven’t done lots of other things terribly wrong.” – Warren Buffett
3. Sometimes success comes by accident
Yes. Success often comes by accident. For example, someone is researching a treatment for angina and accidentally ends up creating Viagra, one of the best-selling drugs in the world.
But it only comes by accident to people who are tirelessly on the move in pursuit of success. In other words, Viagra could never be discovered by someone who, first, isn’t working on a treatment for anything at all and, second, spends all day lying on the sofa watching TV.
As an example of success by accident, I like to mention Marc and Angel, a couple who found success because she was laid off and he was turned down for a job, which let them devote themselves to their dream. They seemed to have bad luck, with two setbacks in a row. Anyone would have thought a black cat had crossed their path, but no. Those events led to success, because…
4. … you have to connect the dots
As Steve Jobs put it: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
Successful people are able to see the whole forest, not just focus on the trees that have fallen. Today you are where your decisions have brought you. Do you want to succeed? Then start from where you are, not from the misfortune of not being where you would have liked to be. Start today, not when you feel like it or have the time. And finally, use what you have, without complaining about everything you could have, so that you can get where you want to go. And for that you will need…
5. … clear, concise goals within a big objective
Nobody gets anywhere if they don’t know where they want to go. Nor does speed help people if they are heading in the wrong direction. You have to set small daily goals. Every day we have to lay our brick to build that great wall, little by little.
Big objectives broken down into goals that must be realistic, measurable and achievable. Once we have the objective, all success comes down to taking the first step. (Read: Simple steps to reach your goals).
It doesn’t matter that you can’t see the whole path. Start walking, and as you go, you’ll see the rest of the way. – Someone said it
6. But keep track
Anyone with goals in life, whether professional or financial, should keep constant track of those goals so as not to lose sight of them. That is, if we have annual goals, we should sit down at least every quarter to analyse whether we are on the right track. If you are getting there, it will motivate you. If you aren’t, it will motivate you to try even harder next quarter. One way or another, successful people…
(Read: 6 reasons why we don’t achieve our resolutions in life)
7. … trust their own abilities
Most successful people achieved success because they trusted that they would. Just as they were aware of their strengths, they were also aware of their weaknesses. Being aware of both is what gave them the confidence to fight, and what made them look to other people for support to cover their weaknesses, because these people know that to succeed they will need…
8. … people they can count on
No businessperson or billionaire is arrogant enough to say they achieved success working alone. They usually credit their achievements to other people. In fact, there isn’t a single person in the world who can run a large company alone. So success also comes from the kind of people we are able to hire. And for the story to have a happy ending, you will all need…
9. … to persevere and commit
Success doesn’t come without effort. In fact, it isn’t easy. It takes a lot of persistence and commitment on our part and on the part of the people who work with us and for us. There are lots of people fighting to achieve exactly what you want to achieve. And the only way to be better than them is to do your best and make an extra effort every day to get better at what you do well.
10. Remember this view of the road to success
Think of the road to success as a road full of obstacles and traps, with snipers on both sides waiting for you to get distracted or fall so they can take their shot. It’s a road where mistakes and falls are allowed, but where you’re not allowed to collapse or fall asleep. It’s a road where you always have to keep moving. Otherwise, they will finish us off.
It’s a road that anyone can start but only a few manage to finish, and those who reach the end often share many habits and behaviours. In the same way, those who don’t finish, or who fall along the way, also have a lot in common.
That’s why it helps to know how those who made it did it, as well as what those who didn’t make it did.
It’s a hard road. It isn’t easy to get through. It isn’t usually made for everyone, and whoever makes it usually finds their reward. But the person who truly receives the greatest reward is the one who enjoys the road, whether or not they reach the end.
Further reading
- The 32 rules for being a successful entrepreneur
- 4 habits that helped me go from poor to rich
- The world’s most successful people share these 7 habits
- Rich and famous people who succeeded after living as homeless drifters
Featured image: Jebulon, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
