I’ve found that success really boils down to one big thing… the willingness to throw your hat in the ring.
And, not just once, but day after day.
When I first started out in business, I was dying to be successful, but I focused on all the wrong things.
I wanted the perfect website, the perfect business cards, and I read every business book I could find to make sure I always said and wrote about the perfect things. Being professional, organized, and educated is important, but I was missing one key element that kept me stuck (for a painful amount of time).
I wasn’t really putting myself out there. I wasn’t getting in front of my audience. I wasn’t meeting new people. I wasn’t throwing my hat in the ring.
I spent more time focused on “doing things right” and “looking the part” rather than actually sharing my ideas with other humans.
I stayed back, stayed hidden, until I got everything “just right”.
You can’t get very far if you stay hidden. I’ve learned and relearned that lesson many times over.
If you want love, success, money, fulfillment, and joy, you’ve got to be willing raise your hand, try something new, and step out of your comfort zone.
And not just once every 6 months when you’ve had one too many cups of coffee and are feeling all pumped up. You have to do it every day.
Since I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd, let’s take a look at JK Rowling’s success.
It is estimated that the Harry Potter brand is worth over $15 billion (and this figure grows every day). Through a combination of book sales, movies, merchandise, and now a theme park, Harry Potter has helped JK Rowling become the world’s first billionaire author, and listed as one of the Forbes’ most influential people in the world.
But, if you look a little deeper, you’ll find that Harry Potter was rejected not once, not twice, but 12 times by publishers. In retrospect, that doesn’t seem like much considering the enormous success of the book. But, on the front end, to JK Rowling, a single mom, living on welfare, writing book ideas on napkins in pubs, it would have been 12 serious blows to a person’s confidence.
So You Think You Can Dance is a favorite show of mine, and it represents the same lesson. There are incredible dancers all over the world, and when I watch the audition episodes, I’m blown away by the talent that walks onto the stage. The auditoriums are absolutely filled to the brim with world-class dancers. And, most of them never make it on the show.
SYTYCD (the best acronym ever) has been on the air for 11 seasons, and there are some dancers who have auditioned every single year. Many dancers get to the final round, only to be sent home, and continue to come back the next year to audition.
No matter how many times they face rejection, some dancers continue to show up and put everything they’ve got on the floor. Those are the dancers that will see wild success. Maybe not today, but soon.
We’re all given special, random, and extraordinary opportunities in life, a unique set of opportunities that others don’t have. And they come around pretty regularly, if you only have the openness to see them.
- Maybe your very first client is waiting for you at that event you’re “not ready” to attend.
- Maybe after 11 brutal rejections, you’ll find the publisher that catapults you into fame and fortune.
- Maybe it’s that 12th audition that brings your talent to the world stage.
But, you have to show up.
If there’s any trick or secret to success, it is being able to recognize the opportunities around you, and having the courage to take advantage of them.
You have chances every day to throw your hat into the ring, it’s just that many of us don’t see those opportunities, or we let them go by because we’re “not ready yet”.
I’ll tell you from experience, thinking about putting yourself and work out there is far more intimidating than actually doing it. And second-guessing yourself and staying in the shadows is more painful than any rejection.
What opportunities do you have in front of you right now? I’ll bet a couple come to mind…
What’s holding you back?
Have you ever let bad business cards or an ugly website keep you from sharing your work? Tell me about it in the comments.
Photo Credit: Caleb George Morris