Many people say they want success. Few know what it is or have experienced it. Less know how to get it.
One thing is certain and that is if you want success, you must pursue it. You must pursue success with tenacious perseverance. Most people fail here. They stop. They give up. They decide it’s too difficult or too much trouble. They find some excuse to stop persevering. They’ll even have a big, clever, convincing “story” as to why they stopped. We’ve all heard it before. We may even have heard ourselves telling such a story. The result is no success. It’s been said that “trying” won’t get you there, neither will motivation. You either do a thing or you don’t. That is the final measure.
What a harsh reality to face, this pursuit of success. So, why do so many fail in its pursuit? Ok, you’ve said it’s because they give up. Ok. I get that. But why? To answer this, we have to look at what drives the pursuit of success and then measure the main drivers and their effectiveness in producing success
The Money Trap
What typically drives the pursuit of success, at least in the United States of America? Well, what are the outcomes of success? Often they are described as happiness, well being, and peace of mind. But what is the way you achieve those? Most people think it is money. Most people think that if they had sufficient money, they would then be happy, feel well, and be at peace. So, in the USA, it is money that most often drives people to pursue success. Is money the best driver of success?
The evidence proves otherwise. Most people who win the lottery, for example, or come into a large inheritance will quickly squander the money away and end up less happy, less being well, and less at peace than before they had the money. Studies repeatedly show this to be the case. We also know that the pursuit of money for its own sake will also not lead to happiness, well being, and peace of mind.
Money doesn’t buy you happiness or love or any of the other higher states of experiencing life. The pursuit of money is insufficient to keep you persevering in the face of big difficulties and challenges. It may appear that it does, in cases where large amounts of money are earned, but it’s not so. Usually, underneath what appears as the pursuit of money is in fact something else, a different driver.
Check-in With Yourself
Are you pursuing success mainly to get more money? If so, you will eventually experience that the pursuit of money is insufficient to sustain tenacious perseverance.
In our next posting, we will continue this conversation about success. Eventually we’ll cover the other drivers of success, including the most powerful one of all. Also, we’ll address the factors necessary for success and how to prepare to be successful. Based on 44 years of studying success and learning from the “masters” of success, I reveal to you some critical distinctions about success that will allow you to be successful.
