Do you ever wonder about what success is and how to achieve it? As I think about those questions I found \u201cOutliers: The Story of Success\u201d by Malcolm Gladwell to be intriguing because the book challenges the notion that immense success comes just from immense amounts of talent and hard work. Gladwell contends that \u201creal success\u201d also needs timing, opportunity, and culture to symbiotically and coincidently come together.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a representative quote:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSuperstar lawyers and math whizzes and software entrepreneurs appear at first blush to lie outside ordinary experience. But they don\u2019t. They are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky \u2013 but all critical to making them who they are.\u00a0 The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
So, does this mean that \u201creal success\u201d is beyond reach unless our life is full of a series of lucky coincidences?\u00a0 Not at all!<\/p>\n
Defining Success<\/h2>\n
First, consider your definition of \u201creal success.\u201d\u00a0 To me, you don\u2019t have to be a billionaire business leader or a super star athlete to be successful. For example, I know numerous people who have minimal net worth and couldn\u2019t put a basketball through a hoop, but I would call them highly successful.\u00a0 They are happy, have loving families and faithful friends, and are making their community a better place.<\/p>\n
Elements Of Success<\/h2>\n
Second, as you aim for success think about the positive impact of hard work and careful choices. For example, in his book \u201cLost & Founder\u201d Rand Fishkin says:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe love to praise execution, as if executing well on any dumb old idea would take us somewhere. Sure. Immense dedication, skill, and the hard work of great people can overcome most obstacles. But choosing wisely at the start \u2013 the field, the approach, the customer target, the economic model, and the marketing methodologies \u2013 has a massive impact on the difficulties you will face and how forgiving the journey will be. Not everyone can afford the costs of starting over.\u00a0 Not everyone has the privilege of being able to test hypotheses willy-nilly. If you have a family, if you have debts, if your cost of failure is anything but zero, it makes sense to tread carefully.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Working Toward Your Success<\/h2>\n
So, whether it is building a business or strengthening a family, coupling a clear definition of success with hard work and deliberate choices can lead you to\u2026 success!<\/p>\n
Ask yourself:<\/em><\/p>\n
\n
- What is my definition of success?<\/em><\/li>\n
- How hard am I willing to work for that success?<\/em><\/li>\n
- What choices do I need to make?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
AI Content Statement<\/h2>\n
The written content was 100% generated by me with AI generated editing suggestions provided by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.\u00a0 Any editing suggestions that were taken from Claude were implemented using my own words.<\/p>\n
The hero image was generated without AI using Canva.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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