Relentless Effort leads to Success

We all understand what the word “Success” means. But at the same time defining success precisely is impossible. Does the success lies in the eyes of the world: winning an Olympic gold medal; running a large organization; making things happen; making a lot of money; creating a big name for self; receiving the noble prize? Or is it personal success: the person who towards the end of life feels that it has been a happy, fulfilled, and enjoyable life? Whatever may be the definition one thing comes up clearly that success means different things to different people. It is important to sketch a mental map of success and put efforts relentlessly towards that. Sometimes you may get it, sometimes you may not. Don’t be discouraged simply because you could not taste the fruits of success in line with your own definition.

This reminds me of some key learning from the book titled “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. The author describes four factors affecting the success.















Out of the four factors mentioned by the author we can control only one “Effort”. Therefore, keep concentrating on the effort and don’t worry much about other factors. Many times, despite of the best effort you may not succeed. We all know the legend Amitabh Bachan who was rejected for voice test by All India Radio. There are numerous examples like that. Amitabh did not lose his hope. He kept his effort on. And we all know the end result. Success followed him.
Sometimes, you may partially select a better opportunity- hoping your judgment is right. Even a mediocre performer in a fast growing company does much better than an excellent performer stuck in a mediocre company. This may be kept in mind while short listing opportunities.
The bottom line is concentrate on “Effort” intelligently. Success will follow you.