What Does Success Feel Like?

When we look at a successful company or a person from the outside looking in; often, all we see is ‘up and to the right’. I’ve heard myself saying things like: “Oh they were just lucky” or “Right time, right place huh?” or “They were made for that job, it’s just natural for them”.

The reality is, when you talk to those individuals or when you dig deeper into a company's history. Nine point nine times out of ten, you find that the journey wasn’t smooth, that it wasn’t easy. Sure, there may have been some luck involved and sure, it worked out - but it was a griiiiiiiiiiiiiind to get there.

You’ve probably heard the Zig Ziglar quote: “There’s no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs”. In my experience, of seeing first hand what it takes to build and scale a billion dollar business; not only is there no elevator, but the stairs go up, down, left, right and around.

It doesn’t feel like success. In fact, often it feels like failure. The outside and self-imposed expectations are SO high that no matter what target is reached, it’s just one more record to be broken. That itself can be disheartening and discouraging.

Maybe you’re in those shoes today.

Maybe you’re grinding and you don’t know why.

Maybe you feel like a failure.

I’ve been there.

The way I got through it was literally by telling myself on a regular basis:

“Yesterday was what it was, and tomorrow will be what it will be... but today I am going to give my very very best.”

Because really, that’s all we can do. Doing that over and over and over again built the resilience in me to put one foot in front of another and never stop.

Then one day, you look up and look back and you can’t believe what’s been accomplished.

Take a step back, because outside looking in... where you are, what you’re doing and who you’re with. By someone else’s definition you likely are successful. It just doesn’t feel like it right now.

Thanks for reading,

Matt T