WHAT SUCCESS WILL YOUR PATH LEAVE
“Successful isn’t a destination or a state of being, it’s a way of doing. The very word ‘success’ comes from a Latin root meaning the thing that comes next.
For there to be a next — an after — there must always be a before.
And that’s where you are right now: Before. Where your success begins. Where every successful person has ever begun.” —Amy Hoy
Success becomes who you are. It becomes what you’re both doing and defined by. That’s the hard part about winning — when you consider success just that singular victory. Because can you repeat? Can you go back to the well and do amazing things again? Or did your luck run out?
PATHS, NOT DESTINATIONS
There’s a contrarian perspective about telling others your goals: Don’t. It’s like the improv principle of “Show, don’t tell”. In both is the idea of not telling others your destination, but showing them the path you took to get there.
The path becomes the destination. You have to drive across the country to get where you want to go. It can sound like a cliche, but success accumulates. And when you focus on a huge goal, it’s easy to forget the cumulative successes and failures to get there.
And I’ll use dating as an example. You have to date a lot of people to figure out what you like in a partner, and how to be your best and most authentic self. You have to become a good dater to attract someone who you want to invest in a long-term relationship with.
THE ONE-OFFS
“If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere…” —Frank Sinatra
The Sinatra Test was popularized in “Made to Stick”. I’ll admit — I loved this idea. If you can be successful, once — you can continue to be successful. Granted, Sinatra is talking about succeeding under the bright lights and big city. But those “one-off” successes keep us pinned to a falsely inflated American Dream.
Steve Jobs only needed Apple. Salinger made his name in every high school classroom in America with Catcher in the Rye. But one-offs are the exception, not the rule. What you need — is a path that leaves success in its wake, not passes it as a destination.
Inside the military — one great patrol doesn’t mean you have a higher status. To be a “water-walker”, and earn the early promotions and plush assignments, you must wake behind a trail of success. And that success must be several standard deviations greater than your peers. Like driving over the speed limit — you do get to the finish line faster.
You have the same challenge to be a “water-walker” on the outside.
THE FINISH LINE
The finish line isn’t an ending, it’s just a barrier to entry.
It’s more important to find the race you want to run. To find path you can continue to enjoy, even when you’re in the long slog of the middle. The military has a path that gets you to a pension, then drops you off. But a military career isn’t a finish line. For the majority, it’s part of your larger journey towards a legacy and calling.
For some — yes, the military is what becomes their calling. Their success in uniform becomes their penultimate or ultimate achievement. But for many, that’s not the case. Everyone is defined by their service. But service always remains unique to each person to manifest and invest.
What are the finish lines you want to lead yourself and others past?
