Why Do We Admire Success?
What makes successful people stand out from the crowd…
Why is it that we look up to successful people? Perhaps it is the fame, maybe the money, but I always seem to think it comes down to their abiltiy to make an impact. Don’t get me wrong, money is nice, when you’ve earned it.
But one thing I always tell anyone who has ever pitched me an idea for an app, is “If that app were ready to launch today, and I were to deliver it to you, ready to go, what are all the things that you would have to do today to ensure that it would be successful?Are you prepared to perform all those tasks? Because if not, your app is most likely not going to succeed.”
It is never the app alone that makes the company successful, and it is never the treadmill that makes a person physically fit. It is the dedication and the heads-down mentality, and the willingness to keep going when others resign that puts you ahead.
Honestly, it scares the hell out of me. I mean we all know it is that simple, every successful person we have ever read about, listened to, or watched has talked about it. They simply employed discipline and consistency and at the end of the day, it came down to working hard day in and day out. But back to my question, why is it that we look up to the people willing to put in this work?
Something inside of us is wired to admire their perseverance. Their ability to change the energy of a room the second they enter. Have you felt it in your own life? When someone you look up to immediately fires your inner drive to succeed?
I think this is probably why great motivational speakers do so well for themselves. They have an ability to ignite a fire inside of people that may not have ever been lit. This is also probably why speakers can get such a bad rep — because while motivation may light the fire, it is simply discipline and hard-work that keeps it lit.
Just because the answer is simple, does not make it easy. One of my favorites quotes explains this perfectly, when asked “What was the biggest lie you were ever told?” Vinny Pazienza answers
That it is. That if you just do the thing that they tell you, you can’t, then it’s done. And you realize it is that simple… And that it always was.
I said earlier that the fact that it may actually be as simple as practicing discipline and consistency, scares me. But why? If I am being honest, I do not know. However, there’s only one way to find out…So here I am, a software engineer, writing on his iPad at 12:13AM on an late Tuesday evening during quarantine. Because one way or another, I’m going to find out just how far discipline and consistency will get me. How far is it getting you?
