The Equation for
Success
For a long time I have mistakenly held the belief that success comes to those who are fortunate: to those who either happened
to work hard enough or to those born with some innate ability to get what they
want. Recently, I have discovered the error in that belief; and, during a quiet
afternoon walk, I developed a framework, in the form of a simple equation, of
how someone (anyone) can be successful.
Now, as when beginning any new
discussion, it is important to define our terms; in this case, that is success. Although there are, no doubt, numerous meanings of the word, I would like the term
success to simply mean the attainment of ones goals – that is, one is
successful when her mission is accomplished, be it large or small. In a broad
sense this implies that, like beauty, success is in the eye of the beholder. With
this I would agree, and I would argue that an objective, universal meaning of
the word simply does not exist.
Nonetheless, the creation and attainment
of a personal goal is central to success. Without a goal, one cannot succeed;
he has sought after nothing and therefore has achieved nothing. When one seeks nothing, anything he may attain is a consequence of the unfolding of
events in his environment. He did not cause them; they happened to him. They
did not originate from within, but from external circumstances. This is not the
basis of success, but, rather, of privilege.
With this in mind, I would like to
share a simple equation for success. Take a moment, and work through the
effects of manipulating its three variables: drive, workload, and competence.
First and foremost is drive. Drive is motivation; more specifically, drive is desire. Drive is the fuel from which all goals are accomplished. Put simply, if you are to achieve something, you must first want it. If you desire nothing, you will succeed at nothing. This may be a very simple concept, but it is also a very profound truth.The old adage "where there's a will there's a way" holds much more weight than one may realize.
The second variable is workload.
Workload is the basic requirement toward achieving your goal. Workload is the
uphill battle, the struggle, the obstacle that needs to be overcome. In other words, it is
simply what you have to do to get what it
is that you want. Hence, workload functions against, and competes with, drive. Still,
additional factors influence the degree to which workload opposes ones drive-force.
It is here that competence comes
into play. To fully explain competence, I will divide it into three component
parts: skills, knowledge, and resources. Skills are the capacities an
individual possess which aid in her performance of a particular task: the
things she’s good at. Although skills are often acquired implicitly throughout
ones natural course of life development, it is imperative to realize that skills can also be learned. If one
believes he cannot be good at a particular task, he is simply mistaken. It is
not that he cannot do it; it is that he
has not yet learned how. (I cannot deny the limitations of major genetic abnormalities on development; however, most skills that one perceives as impossible to be
attained merely require intermediate, prerequisite skills. Once learned, these
skills lead to the development of further skills).
Secondly, knowledge contributes to
competence. Knowledge is the roadmap that guides you toward your goal.
While ignorance may be bliss, knowing is empowering; hence the value of
education. And nowadays, education comes in many forms. With the
amount of freely available information in the 21st century, the ability to learn
no longer equates to sitting in a classroom listening to an instructor’s
sermon (as alluded to in Casey's previous blog post). In this sense, learning has become less dependent on the school you attend and
more dependent on your curiosity to know. Thank Google, information is everywhere and
can be harnessed for your success. Even the knowledge that comes just from
reading this blog post will increase your likelihood to succeed, should you choose
to listen.
Additionally, resources factor
into competence. Resources, such as financial assets and social networks, is the sole external factor that aids in success, if needed. As an unfortunate consequence of
nature, resources are not evenly distributed; and therefore some individuals
are better off in this sense than others. It is important to realize, however,
that resources can be cultivated, which I will mention below. Furthermore, it
is important to realize that, as a whole, competence (skills, knowledge, and resources) modulates
workload. With greater skills and/or greater resources, the perceived workload
is reduced. Thus, with an equivalent amount of drive, a previously
unconquerable workload may be overcome, which will lead to success.
In sum, success is realized in the
attainment of goals, fueled by desire and accomplished via competence. The
single, most important factor in the entire equation is the very first, the one
without which nothing can be achieved: drive. Competence acts as a buffer to
workload, by modulating the amount of drive necessary to become successful. In the
absence of all competence, success is impossible; the workload is essentially
infinite. However, even in the absence of well-developed competence, success is
still obtainable; one needs only enough drive to overcome workload. But again,
one must recognize that competence itself is not fixed, but rather variable based on changes
made by learning and personal growth.
A final dimension to this framework
arrives when one broadens his perspective on goal setting and the ease at which
he can accomplish these goals. That is, success will come easily when a
goal is matched relative to competence. In other words, when an individual’s level of
competence is suitable for his goal, he will flourish. When ones competence is inadequate
for his chosen goal, he will need to work harder; but still, overall success is
obtainable. In fact, to succeed, he may simply set the achievement of a
prerequisite goal as the workload of a larger goal. In this manner, a seemingly impossible goal can be achieved through the
realization of intermediate goals. This concept was already discussed in reference to skills, and it also holds true for knowledge and resources. This new dimension of success is demonstrated in the
following equation, wherein the attainment of a prerequisite goal (in
parenthesis) is substituted in as the workload of a larger, subsequent goal. Consequently, in theory, if someone can achieve at least one goal, then she
can achieve any goal, limited only by her own drive:
One could argue
that genuine success is not about being the best compared to others.
It’s about doing
the best you can with what you’ve got.
And continuing to work from
there.
