Want to know the ‘secret’ to success? Turns out, there is none. At least not “the one”. But there are lots of clues as to what might be the overall theme:
Take Christiano Ronaldo.
Just won the Ballon d’Or (footballer of the year award). 
And everybody looks at him and goes:
“yeah, but look at him, he’s got all this talent”.
Mhmm, talent he may have, but he’s got something else too (like his own swimming pool and a personal chef).
Check out this great article on the BBC website that covers Ronaldo’s journey to the Ballon d’Or (including why having your own swimming pool and private chef is NOT a ‘show-off’ luxury!)
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25719657
So, do you need to have ‘talent’ in droves to make it in business?
Mhmm, maybe if you want to be in the top 0.1%.
Otherwise, a little talent, and doing what Ronaldo is doing will do just fine!
(and yes, you’ll *NEED* a pool and personal chef, essential business expense;-)
Take Mirabeau Wine.
These guys were an overnight success.
Here it is (the overnight success – shoutout to Michael White for the heads-up! Thanks Michael!)
In their own words:
“So after 222 videos and just over 3 years of working on our social media and marketing activities, we’re an overnight success;-)”
and here’s an excellent analysis of the video:
http://www.verilliance.com/2014/01/11/mirabeau-open-wine-without-corkscrew-brilliant-marketing/
So, turns out, ultimately no amount of ‘information’, step-by-step plans and ‘templates’ is going to get you where you want to.
It’s all about trying out what works and what doesn’t work for you.
And sticking with it.
So you too can be an overnight success.
Take Gary Vaynerchuck.
His entire (excellent) book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is about this one idea:
What matters, especially in today’s social media driven environment is the long view.
Be patient, move forward, no, inch forward, one by another and slowly and gently move towards the right hook.
Everything else appears to be a million times more glorious, and in almost all cases ultimately leads to failure.
And of course Gary’s story itself is all about ‘sticking to it’ and persistently move forward (and sometimes take massive steps backwards, like he did when he left Youtube for, how dare he, another video-platform;-)
The Theme Of Success Then …
… appears to be one of simply picking one path and sticking with it.
(and yes, ha, if only it were as easy as that)
Well, turns out, the main reason it’s so darn difficult is that most people pick the wrong path in the first place.
Something that lands them in a situation that in productivity lingo is called “adaptive challenge”.
And them adaptive challenges, oh boy, they are a million times harder to crack than a straightforward “technical challenge”.
The good news is, you can easily pick the right path, even without fancy productivity terms.
But, that’s a discussion for another day (as in: probably this week;-)
In the meantime, if you ever feel down and there are just too many obstacles in the day, this may help:
enjoy, pick ‘n stick to your path, and become an overnight success!
Veit
Good one today Veit, I enjoyed the motivational video. Ali… “He’s so fast, he turns off the light and he’s in bed before it’s dark” Classic.
What Sean said. As for me, well, it’s Legendary Business Owners all the way. I am fully ‘picked and sticked’ – remember you saw this first English usage on Veit’s blog 😉
So okay, you choose your niche carefully and move forward. Stick with it. Persevere. Perspire.
But what if you waste all this time and later find out it was NOT the right niche?
How do you judge whether you are in the wrong niche, or if you just haven’t cracked the nut yet?
Mike,
great question!
the short answer: you TEST & fail fast.
“choosing” happens based on real world feedback, not on doing ‘research’.
so, “choosing carefully” generally sets you up for disappointment and lots of wasted effort (if you’ve been on any of my webinars, you’re probably familiar with my epic journey into and out of the tattoo-niche;-)
Veit