You might be asking “Success in what, exactly?” and well in just about everything in life. There are principles and rules to success that reach across just about every activity or endeavor that man finds himself in. It could be things as diverse as bushcraft skills to writing poetry to salesmanship and more. Most, if not all, have an underlying structure to them. While this structure is far too complicated to cover entirely in one article I want to lay out an important aspect of it.
Man is always in a state of fluctuation, we’re always either growing or decaying, there’s no standing still in this world. Things are in constant motion and as the cliche goes the only constant is change. Because of this we have to keep moving forward to stay ahead of the game. We have to do more, be more, become more, and constantly work to become better, stronger, and wiser “versions” of ourselves. Doesn’t matter if you want to be the best businessman you can be, father, fighter, or anything else. The overall process is the same.
You can’t just sit still in life. Which is why understanding success is so important. If you’re wise, and I’m guessing that you are, you’ll always have something you’re working on and striving for. Something to keep you sharp, active, and going forward. Meaning that success in different endeavors is always going to be part of our lives and understand all that we can of it is going to help us tremendously. I’ve written an entire book on the subject if you want the in depth look but I’ll cover more here.
The Success Gurus
The first thing to understand is the nature of business and how it affects the information that you get. There are a myriad of “success” gurus out there in every field. Everyone is now an “entrepreneur” and while in many ways this is good, needed, and something I encourage it also brings out plenty who have no business sharing advice with others. Granted if they have a good fundamental understanding of sales/marketing/copywriting they can still succeed but you have to be careful not to be taken in by them.
The first thing to do is have a basic understanding of sales/marketing/copywriting yourself, understand business, its nature, and how it works. That way when you see the latest guru out there you’ll know his game and have a better chance of being able to distinguish if he’s “for real” or just another huckster and there are plenty of hucksters out there. Many of them repeat the same things and have the same underlying philosophy just do it in different veneers.
Meaning one will be a steroid macho man jacked guy and serve that market, another will be a yoga yuppie empowered women and serve that market, another will be a making it good out of prison tatted up guy, and so on and so forth. Each will serve a different market but all will have a certainly underlying philosophy. And that philosophy will be that great things can be achieved without hard work. All you have to do is follow their program or guide or personalized coaching.
What The Gurus Forgot
If you’ve been reading my work for any appreciable length of time then you’ll know that nothing good in life is gained without hard work. But it gets even deeper than that. Hard work in and itself isn’t even enough. So when someone says it doesn’t require hard work they’re so far off base it isn’t even funny. Yes, you have to work hard. Working hard gets you in the game, sort of, if even that. In addition to working hard you have to work smart.
There are people who work hard their entire lives and don’t experience much success. It’s sad but it’s true. In addition to working hard you have to work smart. You have to think about things, take them apart, and see how they work. You have to find the so called “short cuts” because they do exist out there, they just don’t mean you don’t have to work hard. Even with all the shortcuts, cheats, hacks, or whatever else you can think of in the world you’ll still have to work hard. And that’s another thing.
Notice that I said you have to work smart IN ADDITION TO working hard, not instead of working hard. Doing both gets you in the game, but are still no guarantee of success in and of themselves. If this sounds exhausting, that’s because it is. Success in any endeavor that’s worthwhile isn’t easy. Nothing worth having in life is easy, depending on how you define that word. You have to work hard and you have to work smart.
But even that’s not enough.
One Major Iron Clad Rule Of Success
So let’s say that I want to be championship boxer, you can replace that with your own goal, start a successful small business, publish a book that’ll make lots of money, or whatever. Now say I take one week and each and every day I’m working hard and I’m working smart. I’m putting in the work in the gym, I’m sparring, I’m running, I’m working mitts, I’m the first one there and the last one to leave. At home I’m studying film of the greats, I’m checking out instructional, I’m learning all that I can about the sport.
And let’s say that on top of all of this I have the build and natural athleticism to even become a championship boxer. Will I be one at the end of this time period? Of course not, that’d be ridiculous and we all know it. Yet it’s something that we often forget when we’re applying it to other things in life. It takes time, it takes consistency, and it takes dedication. Work hard and work smart then do that for a decade or so and you’ll be getting there. Which is something no one wants to hear. I remember when I first learned about blogging.
If I would have been told right away that it takes years to get anywhere I probably wouldn’t have done it. Granted you can get things up and going pretty quick with target marketing, niche websites, Google ads, and all that whiz-bang stuff. But if you’re doing it “the old fashioned way” it’s going to take a lot of time and this applies across the board to all endeavors that are worthwhile and that are going to improve your life.
The Truth Is Harsh But Cleansing
It always is. Truth will set you free but usually only after burning you intensely. Success take time and effort. It takes working hard and working smart and doing that day in and day out for years on end. The sooner you can get started down that road the better off that you’ll be in the long run. No one wants to be on their deathbed with a long list of things they wished they’d done. So go out and do them now. Work hard, work smart, and keep your nose to the grindstone. Because you have a long ways ahead of you. But the journey is generally worth it.
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
