Recently, I came across an article claiming to reveal the secret to success. It supposedly shared a strategy used by various well-known CEOs. Against my better judgment, I gave into my curiosity, clicking the article, more than eager to discover the big secret. So, what was it? Finding a damn good partner to work with. Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but think, “Bamboozled again!”
It felt as if the author wanted to write about one topic, realized it wasn’t quite appealing enough, so he mangled it to the point of becoming an article promising quick success. It’s not even that ‘working together’ is a bad idea, but it’s hardly some type of secret trick. And it’s not quite that easy to apply. Unless of course, you believe you’ll somehow stumble upon the next Wozniak, miraculously making you the next Steve Jobs.
Setting sarcasm aside, these type of articles can be okay, if approached with some skepticism. Unfortunately however, many devour this kind of material without thinking about what’s really being said. This is the same audience which believes as long as they faithfully follow their 47 habits of an effective leader, practise their atomic habits, and embrace the power of positivity, success is guaranteed.
The advice dispensed within such material, typically seems reasonable at first. Take, for example, Cal Newport’s book, inspired by comedian Steve Martin’s famous quote, “Be so good they can’t ignore you!” At first glance, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this statement. You might even feel the dopamine bubbling up inside you, “I’ll show them!”, whoever ‘them’ might be.
But let’s take a closer look at the quote.
It starts off with “Be so good…”. Okay, compared to what? Did we previously strive to perform as poorly as possible? If not, does this quote tell us anything we didn’t already know? And if we really think about this quote, what is it really telling us? In fact, I’d say it’s an implicit promise: become a master in your field and success will be yours. Sure, let’s tell that to Van Gogh, “Become so good, they can’t ignore you,” – they’ve been ignoring him his whole lifetime. In effect, the quote makes too big a promise. Achieving mastery is a good thing, but the success world tends to oversimplify reality.
If you want to understand what really works, there’s a far better alternative than reading success literature, namely biographies. The last couple of weeks I’ve been reading a great one about Napoleon.
Now, when you read Napoleon’s story, you won’t notice the same pattern you’d expect from a Hollywood film. Napoleon didn’t endure a challenging childhood for example. As you delve deeper into his life, you’ll discover he frequently took extended sick leave during the early stages of his career – sometimes for weeks, other times for months. On one occasion, he utilized this time to tend to family matters; on another, he dabbled in politics; and on yet another, he spent his time writing a novella.
So the question becomes: how did he become a general at the tender age of twenty-four? Success books would put it down to effort and knowledge. Sure, he had the required military acumen and he put in the work as a young officer. But you can’t understate the importance of circumstances moving in his direction. Without the precise conditions emerging in the aftermath of the French Revolution, rebellions which needed to be extinguished, and the shortage of experienced military personnel at that particular moment, Napoleon may have had to wait much, much longer to rise through the ranks. George S. Patton, for instance, did not become a general until well into his fifties.
Does this not contradict the convential wisdom we see in the success literature? Taking sick leave to write a book, taking time to try out different careers – trying out politics in Corsica, followed by returning to the French army? While Steve Martin is feverishly telling everyone to become even better, Napoleon is taking some well-earned time off.
It seems to me life just isn’t as linear or predictable as some voices would like it to be. Luck and circumstances do play a role. We have to acknowledge that, even while we keep working on ourselves. And rarely is there only one way of climbing to the top. So let’s have faith in ourselves, to find our own unique path and to stop seeking shortcuts or magic formulas from others. So, just be yourself. Food for thought.
Sincerely yours,
Vincent J. Dancet