Why are some people so much more successful than others?<\/p>\n
After thinking about this on and off for almost 3 decades, I’ve reached the conclusion that 4 factors are responsible for success:<\/p>\n
1. Hard work — “work smarter, not harder,” is largely B.S. Yes, you have to work smart. But most of the really successful people I know have a puritan work ethic, despite the claims of some of them to the contrary.<\/p>\n
2. Persistence — the only way to ensure permanent failure is to give up. Successful people never give up.<\/p>\n
3. “Smarts” — successful people are either highly intelligent or have some aptitude that helps them in achieving their goals.<\/p>\n
4. Luck — some people are just luckier than others. They are fortunate to be born with an aptitude (#3 above) that makes money in today’s society. Or they benefit from timing: market factors align favorably with their ventures and goals.<\/p>\n
I am debating adding a fifth factor to my list above: ambition.<\/p>\n
Financial talk show host Bill Bresnan began a lecture once by asking the audience: “Why are you not rich? Because you don’t want to be rich.”<\/p>\n
People who achieve success — fame, wealth, building a company, launching a product, inventing — do so because doing so is important to them.<\/p>\n
The difference between a humble successful person and an egotistical one?<\/p>\n
The humble achiever acknowledges the role #4 played in his success, and the egotistical one does not.<\/p>\n
Do you think my 4 (5) factors above adequately explain why some people are so much more successful than others?<\/p>\n
Or am I missing an important factor required to achieve success?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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