Perspective PowerTM - The Success Myth
Most people think (wrongly) that to be successful, you simply need to find something you're good at and work hard. I call this the Success Myth and it’s a crock!
The Success Myth is a dangerous lie. Look around you, talented, hardworking people are everywhere…and most are not successful. Think for a moment, I bet you know someone who's talented, hardworking and broke. It might even be you.
The consequences of buying into the Success Myth are unbelievably devastating. You know you’re talented (and have degrees and awards to prove it). You’ve committed (and recommitted) to doing whatever it takes to be successful. And yet, you crash and burn—and have absolutely no idea why your dreams lie in tatters. What stone did you leave unturned? What opportunity did you overlook?
I know the drill. First, you attempted to reach your illusive goals by making even more of a Herculean effort; spending weekends at the office, pulling 'all-nighters' and skipping vacations. And, as you hunched over your office desk, life shriveled into depressing drudgery.
Then, when you still didn’t get the respect and recognition you deserved, you began to lose confidence and question your talent: “I guess I don’t have what it takes”. Or, in a flurry of psychological bait-and-switch, you blame your failure on bad luck. Either way, you’re exhausted, unfulfilled and bitter.
Listen, I know how to turn your ship around. You got sucker-punched and brought to your knees by a myth you didn’t even know existed: “If you want to be successful, find something you’re good at and work hard…”
Let’s pin this BS to the dissection board…
The Work Ethic
Let’s be clear, hard work is important for success. I’m not pitching some late night infomercial crap about making the big bucks while sitting on the beach, sipping margaritas and occasionally glancing at your laptop. Hard work is important for success, but is it sufficient? Let’s dig a little deeper…
When I chat with attendees after my motivational speeches, breakout sessions and workshops, I'm always struck by how hard people work. A practice manager comes to mind who frenetically puts out fires as he organizes fifty physicians at six different locations. An HR professional scrambling to get multiple training programs in place after an 'eleventh hour' shift in her corporation's strategic direction.
And I've lost count of the senior executives with dawn-to-dusk schedules full of exhausting back-to-back meetings, where they strategize with c-suite colleagues on ways to grow market share in the face of ever increasing, and stiffer competition…all the while trying to make time for family.
Hard work is vital, but it’s also commonplace. And you won’t ever distinguish yourself doing the same things as everyone else. No. Hard work is a key to success, not the key.
Okay, so hard work isn’t the key, how about talent? If you want to do well, you've got to be good at what you do. That's just common sense, right?
Is Talent The Key?
Fact: Talent is commonplace (just like hard work). Talented people are a dime-a-dozen. Make no mistake, if you've found something you're good at and are working hard to be a success then you're doing exactly the same thing as everybody and his brother (and sister)!
Look around you. Just like the TV show…Corporate America's Got Talent! Executive jugglers who can keep several major projects in the air at one time. Salespeople who, like quick-change artists, can adjust a proposal in real time to meet a prospect's specific needs. Not to mention the magicians in 'R & D,' conjuring upgrades and new product ideas.
We're all pretty good at what we do; otherwise we'd be doing something else. Talent and hard work alone won't differentiate you in your organization and/or marketplace. They are nothing more than the expected price of admission into the business world. Talent and hard work are crucial, but not sufficient for extraordinary success.
There’s a vital ‘third element’ that most people completely overlook. Talent and hard work put you in the game. Perspective PowerTM – the ‘third element’ will separate you from the pack, so you trounce your competition and win the game...
What's A Talented, Hardworking Failure To Do?
Here’s the simple key to your outrageous success: STOP working yourself into an early grave after a short unfulfilled life. STOP doubting your talent, which would be a tragic waste of your incredible potential. (Besides “talent” is such an ephemeral concept that, even during the best of times, we're all prone to self doubt.) STOP invoking the specter of bad luck to explain away your failure. And START flexing your Perspective PowerTM.
