Success Is the Easy Part
Why We Need Help Discerning What We Really Want
Greetings from Washington, D.C.!
My dad and I are here for a quick trip. Last night, we attended a book launch for a client (the book is #9 on Amazon Charts this week), and today we are doing some sightseeing. It’s been a fun trip of catching up, talking through what matters most, and wondering why things keep changing.
Last night at the event, I had a conversation with someone, and they shared with me that “success is the easy part.” I know that sounds crazy, but relatively speaking, it has never been easier to build a life around a craft you want to pursue.
The tough part, the part no one else can do for you, is figuring out what you want to do with your success. What do you want to succeed at? Where do you want to direct your efforts?
Most people in life, to quote an old business author, are climbing a ladder in life only to realize it’s leaning against the wrong wall.
In America, we are often taught to succeed at all costs. This lesson comes implicitly, but it certainly does come. We are taught to strive, to hustle, to work harder than most to get things others don’t have.
I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, but it can be confusing. So, here’s my question: If success were inevitable, what would you do? What would you attempt? How brave could you be?
These days, with the Internet and social media—with DIY videos on YouTube helping you solve every problem a person could ever have, with Reddit threads and Quora answers tackling almost any question a person might ever ask—it is not acceptable to say, “I don’t know.”
That’s just a matter of finding someone who’s done what you want to do or gotten what you want and following what they did, then seeing if it works for you. Again, the hard part is knowing what you want. And sometimes, you need help figuring that part out.
Yes, knowing your way is up to you. But others can guide you in the process and can at very least help you figure out what you don’t want.
This week, my friend Joe Bunting is bundling over a decade’s worth of writing resources (courses, guides, you name it) and offering them at a deep discount. Joe is an old pal, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s the guy you want to look to if you want to grow as a writer.
Which is what makes this offer so special. He’s only doing this once—selling all his best advice for writers for a fraction of its value—so I highly recommend you take him up on it.
Just remember: Success is the easy part. The challenge is knowing what you want to succeed at and what you will do with that success. So, whatcha gonna do with all your success?
And what would you do if you couldn’t fail?
It’s a question at least worth considering.
Jeff – Oh my gosh, you worked with Gen Stanley McChrystal on his book?!? That is incredible (and not surprising)! It's been on my radar since I've seen a few interviews recently (and read his book about making the bed ... which I think I've failed to inculcate into my youngest (who is now 24 and really awesome, but ... ugh!)).
I hope you are well, think of you often. Making progress on some meaningful things. All is good (except the larger world, hahaha – not!).
“Everyone has a plan until they’re punched in the face.” - Mike Tyson
Everyone knows what they’d do with a bazillion dollars - then they get it - and then they learn. Nobody really knows what it’s like to be possessed of great wealth and status until they have it.
And there's the rub.
I only fault those who buy the Ferrari when they become fabulously wealthy because it’s obvious the Lamborghini is the superior machine. Not because they are squandering wealth on something I deem as trivial or of no real consequence to the world.
Success is an amplifier.
If one truly believes great success will change them, they absolutely ought to pursue it until they attain it. For in that moment they shall learn who they truly are: as big or as small as they had always esteemed themselves to be.