2 Humble Truths About Success; And 4 Unusual Steps To Lead A Successful Life6 min read

The Old-Aged Approach (To Success)

In almost every book of wisdom or strategy, there is a recurring concept. A theme that encourages us to look at life through a long-term perspective – to look for the bigger picture in every circumstance.

Achieving this mental prowess can almost save us from all kinds of suffering, most especially self-inflicted ones. It can save us from regrets, guilt, and unhappiness caused by rash decisions, and impulsiveness.

By intentionally focusing on the bigger picture, we enhance our understanding of reality, rejuvenate our spiritual well-being; and create long-lasting success. 

But it’s easier said than done.

The struggle (What Makes Success Difficult)

The challenge lies in the fact that life is all about one thing leading to another, and we can’t see these in a glimpse. 

To see the bigger picture we must first know where and how far to look. 

Unfortunately, we often don’t look at all. 

Overwhelmed by the urge for instant gratification we lose sight of the picture. 

And when we try, it feels like a mental workout, and since by default we all dread stress, our brains try to escape by finding shortcuts to making decisions – which are often short-term, and bad.

Simply put, it is not easy to make good decisions consistently.

2 Humble Truths About Success

To fully appreciate and practice this age-old approach to success, which leads to long-lasting success, certain basic truths must be acknowledged.

These truths are;

1. We have insufficient time to be successful in every facet of life. To compensate for that, we’re coerced to conform to the theory of opportunity cost   – compelled to forfeit one desire for another. Some instances include,
   • A student who skips a closed friend party for an exam tomorrow.
   • A stay-at-home partner who gave up her career to be close to the kids.
   • Or a football player who stays back to train at the end of the season instead of going on a vacation.

We always want something, and sometimes, it’s more than one thing. No matter what that is; it comes at a cost which is often at the expense of something else, and time isn’t concerned about that. 

2. Success is not entirely linked to effort. Chance (luck) also affects the outcomes of the happenings around our lives.

To several degrees, our path to success is likely to be met with obstacles such as moral conflicts, societal struggles, relationship limbo, or existential crises; and to foretell how we’ll deal with any of these things is practically iimpossible.

The reality is that sooner or later,  one or more of these horrors of life will contend with our quest for success.

In the face of these tendencies, How do we succeed?

4 Unusual Steps To Create Long-lasting Success.

The future is full of uncertainties, but it is not inherently grim. That we can’t predict it, doesn’t mean we can’t learn to surf on the uncertainties like waves of an ocean.

To do this, to create lasting success 

1. Don’t Trust Yourself: You must not trust yourselves.

No, no, no; You mustn’t 

Your future self, thoughts, and actions are unpredictable in advance. 

For example, consider Pat Key, who started as a writer, became a graphic designer and is now a travel photographer.

While Mark Manson once thought he would be a rockstar, he is now a full-time outstanding writer.

Also, my interests have taken me from one type of activity to another. Today I am a writer and a photographer; and who knows, perhaps someday it would evolve into something entirely different.

You’re to give up on being in control of everything and flow with the process.

2. Follow Your Passion: Since we cannot predict everything in advance, it’s best to start with a small spark of passion or idea and let it grow.

The game of chess presents an opportunity for us to understand this explicitly.

In the game, after the first five moves from each player, there are exactly 69,352,859,712,417  possible games that could have been played, (that of course, is a humongous figure for a game played on a portable, square-shaped board).

It means you can rarely anticipate every move ahead of time. Chance (luck) plays a part at some point in the game where you wait for your opponent to make a mistake and utilize that to your advantage.

This is the same in our world.  Instead of 69,352,859,712,417  possible moves, there are, however, an endless number of possibilities.

Your only chance to get ahead is to start with the first moves – starting from where you are.

Life is a journey. The road becomes clearer as you close the gap between where you are and what you want to be. 

So start moving…

3. Seek Knowledge And Experience Along The Way: While we are on the move, experience and knowledge are significant to success. 

We gain experience when we start walking in the steps of those ahead of us, not merely observing them

Hardly anyone is entirely self-taught. 

Everything we know we learned somehow, sometime, and someplace from someone.

The process of knowing largely involves absorption – imitating people we fancy or respect.

Just as children practice what they see often, apprenticeship is an indispensable process for achieving success.

We must follow the directions of a teacher, mentor, or anyone whose methods resonate with us.

With the abundance of experience and knowledge, they have gathered over the years, we are likely to advance faster with a clear vantage of the path ahead of us.

Through this process, we reduce the hardship and stress of figuring out everything on our own. The workout becomes less frightening 

4. Define Your Success: A successful life does not have a magical formula – there is no obvious roadmap for the journey – hence no destination.

It’s a voyage where you choose a path and follow through and learn as you grow. 

Any path you eventually follow has its pain and joy.

There will be days you feel like a horse stud (disturbed and empty) 

And some days, 

like an Easter bunny on a Sunday morning (happy and purposeful)

Whatever outstanding record you have sooner or later will become mediocre – and whatever satisfied life you lead, sooner or later you will become unsatisfactory.

This is called  “reversal to the mean“.

So, approach each day as a gift; try to make do with whatever comes and improve at things you suck at, which means changing as often as necessary.

Your ultimate aim is to place yourself in a position that offers you the opportunity to continually improve your mind and character since success by nature frequently moves and twists its position and nature respectively. 

Hence, success ultimately becomes what you choose it to be. 

You may adore the kind of success a mentor has, and that is still okay, as long as it is what you’ve chosen, independently 

You are welcome to share a better perspective or insight in the comments section.