“Success doesn’t come to you – you go to it.”
– Marva Collins
The word “secret” is batted around a lot – and I’ve recently received a lot of people asking for the “secret of success.”
Is there a secret to success? I don’t think so – well…at least not in the traditional sense of the word “secret.”
What’s a Secret?
A secret is :
“Not open or public; kept private or not revealed”
I have to confess – most of what I know is not really “secret.”
- Some techniques are uncommon
- Many of my tips are unusual…even unconventional
- But none that I would call secret
But maybe we don’t really need “secrets”
What we’re really looking for are solutions that deliver results, and that most people aren’t aware of…or don’t use
Now with that definition, I DO have quite a few “secrets” of success, but if I had to pick just one, it would be this:
The Only Consistent Secret Of Success
The secret of success is to try new things (including things that have worked for others) to figure out what works for you. Once you figure out what works for you, excel in that specific area and repeat.
As for what you should not do – stop looking for so-called secrets, silver bullets, panaceas, or magical solutions to your problems. Instead systematically try new things and find what works for you.
After studying what I’ve done (as well as what other people have done) to be successful, it’s clear that there are a few different factors that will influence your level of success. These include:
- Timing
- Luck
- Connections
- Opportunity
- Education
- Natural Skill/Ability
However, the one secret is that those who are successful have this habit of stretching their abilities by trying different things, and when they find something that works for them, they focus their efforts on it so that it provides the highest return.
How To Apply This Secret of Success
So now there are two directions you can go with this knowledge:
If you already have found something that you are successful at and were born to do…
- Continue to push forward in that arena.
- Stop holding yourself back
- Take small, manageable risks
- Push the boundaries of what you are capable of
- Throw yourself into it as fully as you can
If you currently are not seeing the success you expect…
- Try new things to see what works
- Try things that you’ve always wanted to do, and see what happens
- Try thing that you’re afraid of
- Try things that you might even disagree with (e.g., “That’s such a stupid idea.”)
- Repeat until you discover what you are good at and were born to do
A Harsh Truth – Most People Won’t Do Anything
Most people will accomplish far less than they are capable of, but it won’t be for lack of education, lack of opportunity, or lack of talent.
- It will be for lack of recognizing their education, their talents, their unique gives
- And it will be for lack of proactively searching for and taking advantage of opportunities that are out there.
And the reason for this? It’s because they aren’t following this one fundamental “secret” of success.
Allow me to summarize…
The Secret of Success – Simplified
The fundamental secret of success is:
Successful people do, while unsuccessful people don’t.
Successful people…
- DO try new things
- DO “do” more of the old things that are already working
- DO search out opportunities
- DO stretch outside your comfort zone
Get out there and do something. Otherwise, you’ll just sit around and don’t.