Or The Myth of Success And Why Luck and Skills Aren't Everything
“Many people measure their success by wealth, recognition, power, and status. There's nothing wrong with those, but if that's all you're focused on, you're missing the boat...if you focus on significance -using your time and talent to serve others -that's when truly meaningful success can come your way.”
Here is your nomination letter; he is handing me my new assignment. I cannot help the shaking as my hand is leaning towards that new artifact. He could see me blushing if I was not Black.
After the rush of Dopamine for a couple of days, the dust has settled to a new level of boredom. But there is a catch.
That nomination has been something I have been chasing for years. But, now that I am sitting on this new throne, nothing has changed except one thing: me.
Yes, reaching a goal is not really what is essential. It is the transformations that I have to initiate all along the journey.
It has been a rollercoaster of emotions. I have been down so deep that I could see no light. I have been up so high that I felt ecstasy. Those were the crest and the trough of the waves of my journey.
Like high-performing athletes, I needed more than motivation to continue paddling through hail, rain, or shine.
1. GOALS VERSUS SYSTEMS: THE ROUTE TO SUCCESS
I have talked about goals and their limitations previously. Long story short, goals are great for short-term results.
That is why all big corporations have goal settings cascaded to the lowest person in the organization. Each year, it is the same dance. Just look closer.
The real owners of the company are the shareholders. They want their investment to compound each year. In a capitalist world, short-term goals are the tools to achieve that.
There is something to steal there: use goals as proximal as possible. They must be achieved within a week, a month, a year at best. Beyond that, goals are just wishful thinking.
For long-term success, you have to upgrade yourself. You need to become a new version of yourself with new features. The only way to do that is by building systems that can help you be in automatic mode.
Automatic mode, in that case, means that you are not at the whim of the winds of your environment. Systems are the only way to develop the features you need for your future self.
Yes, that is right. Only by implementing systems can you output so much that success will come knocking at your door.
Goals are the drops of rain. Systems build the clouds for the rain to happen in the first place with all the right conditions.
Then the magic wind can randomly blow you in the right direction.
Let me share with you the dirty secret formula of all successful people:
Success =Luck x Skills
Yes, many successful people are just lucky people. Yes, developing new skills increases your odds of getting lucky. Yet it is not guaranteed.
There are many ways to increase your luck. That is for another article. Now let’s sit down. Let's enjoy your success.
It feels great, doesn’t it?
Well, sorry to break it to you. As with everything in life, a wave is coming. And that one will send you to the trough of success.
I spend a lot of time wandering in the zombieland of success. In that maze, every other person's success was a firefly that disappeared as I tried to grasp it.
I am in the best company where every local strives to work. I have a beautiful house, exceptional children, and a loving and caring wife. I have free healthcare and no student debts, thanks to free education.
I am healthy and articulate. I finally arrived at that: my definition that I have enough of the material things. With health on top, I am successful.
Yet I feel like a dying star in the remote part of a universe where no other light source exists.
Why is it that with the outside parameter being green, do I still feel the void from within?
I am sure that you have been there. You hit all the external metrics of success. Yet, you feel like all it does is mess up your internal compass.
That is because there is a hidden level to success. And being successful does not guarantee you get the key to unlock that next level.
2. FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE: THE ROOT OF IMPACT
Goals are great. But they are like lightbulbs. They have maximum impact when theory is close to where you are.
Another issue with goals is that you are only met with a void once you reach one. Hence you define another bigger goal, another mountain to climb, five minutes after sitting on the throne of your recent victory.
You are better off defining objectives than goals. An objective is not a destination to be reached. It is a journey to be taken. The most important is who you become as you are on that journey. There is no point in focusing on an arbitrary destination.
That is why many successful people strive for an objective: to use their wealth to impact people’s lives. Yes, I agree with you. That is not the case for every successful person. Yet those who venture on making an
Final Thoughts
Here are the two takeaways::
1. Goals Versus Systems: The Route To Success
2. From Success To Significance: The Root Of Impact
Success is not the end of the journey for those who understand life. Instead, success is an objective to have more impact.
And having an impact is rooted in or desire to have significance. We are all trying to wrap our heads around what it is to be alive. We are all working towards being of an impact in our lives.
Success is monetary. Success is temporary. You should aim at something higher than yourself. Creating an impact with your blessings is all about community. It is all about how we are of service to others.
Significance is the ultimate form of success. Creating an impact is the best way to reach significance.
I have been chasing success most of my life. Yet I can reach beyond success and create an impact. That is the magic of significance. You can have an impact without external metrics of success.
I am striving to be of value to others. I am striving to be part of communities of impact. That is what is driving me today. I skipped the success mania when I understood the power of significance. I am worthy of significance. I am valuable to others and myself.
When was the last time you visited Significance?
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You can read my previous article on https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/unmasking-true-self-guide-removing-your-alpha-persona-diallo- (LinkedIn)
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You can read my previous article (Friendly link): https://ahmadou.medium.com/unmasking-the-true-self-a-guide-to-removing-your-alpha-persona-cba1269099b?sk=c892dc13167b8acef22c5973cc18a755
I am a member of The Medium Writers Club. ✍🏾 Join us now, and let’s grow together on Medium: mediumwriters.club
https://medium.com/@ahmadou/membership
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