Are You Willing To Fight For That Single Inch?

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