Success is a result of cumulative advantage.
A single factor doesn't make people successful but a combination of many.
Many rich people belonged from the ordinary backgrounds. They started their lives like everyone else. But end up achieving the most.
People like Tony Robbins, Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban did not belong to a family of billionaires. But they achieved a lot in their life.
Often times, I wonder how did they pull it off?
Were they too bright as kids or did they have some extraordinary techniques?
Genius, inheritance and genes are all over rated. Success is not about hardwork too.
You can do sincere efforts, work throughout your life and still not succeed. Because success is a combination of a number of factors like opportunity, luck, intelligence and where you are born.
All these things when combined, will make you successful.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explains the hidden secrets by sharing the journeys of successful entrepreneurs, businessmen and sportsmen.
Malcolm defines outlier as a person who is not ordinary and their level of success is beyond our understanding.
Success therefore doesn't depend on a single factor but a number of factors.
Opportunity and timing is often critical for success. If Bill Gates tried today, he might end up being an average software engineer, same with Jeff Bezos.
They were early and their timing was right. They seized the right opportunities. Worked really hard and ended up at the top spot in the world.
Opportunities if taken, are exponentialy rewarded.
Now think about all the people who made money in cryptocurrencies. A lot of early adopters in crypto took the chance, risked their money, ended up extremely rich.
Even people who were early on hive had huge advantage.( The price was around 7 cents in the beginning).
So, when an opportunity presents itself, it would be best to seize it.
Malcolm Gladwell says that to become a world class expert at anything, you have to put 10,000 hours of practise in it.
It will take around 5 years if you do it for 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Overall, it will take somewhere 10 years to become a world class expert in a field because most people are not that consistent.
10,000 hours is what it takes to master something. But only people with the right opportunity has the chance to do something. Not everyone has the right opportunity.
Bill Gates, The Beatles and Mozart, all practised relentlessly for more than 10,000 hours and achieved the complete mastery of skills in their respective fields.
You need to practise even more if you don't have natural talent.
The lesson is if we outwork others, we can achieve what we want even if we are not naturally talented.
An average level of talent is enough to be successful.
10,000 hours is a lot of time. You will think about quitting, you will need a lot fo support and motivation.
There is no shortcut to achieve excellence except to put in the hours.
The thing is--almost anybody can make it with enough practise and some luck.
Apart from practising for 10,000 hours, you need to have the right upbringing.
Upbringing provides the right opportunities to you.
If you grew up in a poor environment but your parents worked hard and succeeded, it can be a valuable lesson for you.
More work will result in more success eventually.
This lesson is hard to learn if your parents failed a lot. Because then they will create limited beliefs in their minds. According to them, life is hard. There is too much competition.
And eventually you will pick up that belief system.
The lesson here is that engaging or watching meaningful and hard work makes you more likely to be successful.
What is meaningful work?
When you feel that there is some real purpose in your work, it’s more likely that you will work harder. And it will feel meaningful to you.
If you want to achieve fulfillment, you should have desire to work. Because you will spend most of your life working.
Also, your work should be complex enough to give you enough mental or physical challenge. When you face regular challenges, you grow exponentially.
If there is some connection between your efforts and the rewards you get, you will work more and earn more.
Even if your job is not easy but meaningful, you will strike gold. The more work you will do, the more you will make money.
I remember a lot of kids from my school who used to study a lot.
They were best in academics. But did they succeed the most in life?
I don't think so. Most are average.
I am sure something similar has happened with people around you.
The people who achieved the most were those who had social skills, who loved to take advantage of every opportunity they got. Who enjoyed challenges.
After you reach a certain skill threshold because of your practise and hardwork, your abilities won’t help you. It means once you reach a certain level of skill other things factor in such as your social skills, your network and sometimes a lucky break.
Even where you are born matters a lot in how much success you achieve in your life.
For example, Warren Buffett always mentions that he was lucky to be born in America. If he was born somewhere else, he might not be that much successful.
Achievement is talent plus practise.
Find out what is creating setbacks in your life and make a change in that area.
This quote inspired me quite a lot today. Because if there is something making me so uneasy and pushing me so hard that I am waking up at 4 a.m everyday-- all days of the year-- I will be obviously unstoppable. I can achieve anything at all.
In the end, having knowledge, practise of 10,000 hours, resourcefulness will not matter if you don't have the sheer will to succeed.
Love this:
And this:
In fact, full of insights!
thanks...
good post here!
thanks a lot bro.
I read this post yesterday and I was thinking about the 10 000 hours. If you work 8 hours a day it will be about 3.5 years. That is a long time.
But just after I read your post I read this in the Bible
Interesting I thought.
Thank you for writing and blessings for the week to come.
Yepp...let's make the next week more exciting and rewarding.