This post is based on Richard St. John’s video: “8 Secrets of Success”, which is available on TED.
I want to make it very clear that Richard’s video is infinitely better than this humble post.
I simply watched the video a few times, focused on the image below (the last image in the video), and started writing what came to mind about these keywords. This isn’t a translation of the video; it’s my way of interpreting the keywords that lead to success.
8 secrets of success. Credit to Richard St. John
Here is the text:
Let’s imagine success as a journey from point A to point B.
I’ve just gotten out of bed at point A, and I want to be successful. What should I do?
Nothing starts without good IDEAS. Successful companies and professionals started with good ideas. But more is needed, because an idea without action is a dream. You have to roll up your sleeves! Success is a dream that becomes reality and inspires new dreams.
I already have good ideas, but I need to look in the mirror for a moment to make sure that, in the long run, I’ll still be working on these ideas with enthusiasm. Without PASSION for the idea, there won’t be enough energy to sustain it. Do what you love, and the money will come as a consequence. If you can’t do that, fight until you can do what you love. The act of fighting itself already brings some satisfaction.
I know what I want and I’m passionate about it, so let’s see what I should do along the way:
I need to be very GOOD at what I do in order to stand out from the rest. Good enough that no one can imitate me in the short term.
To reach that level of skill, I need to WORK hard, because that’s the only way to get there and stay there. I’ve seen many cases of children who took over their father’s companies without making any effort and left the companies in debt.
I can’t simply carry out my tasks and go to sleep. I should always PUSH my mind and body forward, remain open to experimentation, seek different points of view, and keep a healthy mind in a healthy body.
Amid so many tasks and so much information, I need to stay FOCUSED to keep moving in the right direction. Often, information needs to be filtered and only what’s essential followed; the noise must be eliminated.
In almost 100% of cases, you won’t reap the rewards overnight. Your goal will change and improve along the way. The road is full of ups and downs, and you need PERSISTENCE to endure the bumpy ride.
At first, there was only an idea and the passion to make it real. Along the way, we use various means to reach our goal, but none of it matters if other people don’t like what I’m doing. Something must feed this system and make it sustainable for everyone. The missing ingredient is enjoying SERVING OTHERS. Enjoying service means seeing and treating people as human beings, not as sources of money. When you enjoy serving others, all your effort is focused on something that will improve the environment you live in, or at least a small part of it. From that point on, your system takes on a life of its own. I call that life success, and we finally arrive at point B.