Others’ Successes

Anytime something good happens to me, people tend to say one of these two things. Either:

1. You’re successful because you’re so talented.
2. You’re successful because you worked so hard.

I hate when people say either of those statements. I always want to balance the thought. Maybe I’m talented, but I worked freakin’ hard. Ok, maybe I worked really hard to get where I am, but I also have a bit of natural talent.

The reason I’m so inclined to balance the scales is because it takes both. It takes talent and hard work.

But people don’t want to hear that. Everyone wants to hear that there’s just one secret to success. They want to bring it down to one simple variable that’s easily reproducible. But the fact is, one person’s success is nearly impossible to reproduce because it’s a combination of their hard work and unique skill sets.

So what do we learn from this, then? We need to realize that success isn’t something you need to follow. You don’t need to see one man’s success and mimic that. That’s not the best way to success – you’re just trying to reproduce.

The best way to success is to match your hard work with your natural talent. Put those things together and the success will come. Look at others to get inspired, but don’t fall into the trap of copying or following. Success isn’t a predetermined path – it’s a marriage of hard work and intrinsic talent.

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