The hardest thing to learn in school is not the course work, but how to handle the work while excelling. It is the elusive question of “how does one become successful?” Unfortunately, there is no easy answer.
But I still thought – like most other students – that there had to be an outline or handout my teachers could give me to become successful. A rubric, at least. When these dreams were crushed, I looked elsewhere for inspiration. The best rubric I have found is by imitating others; imitation, after all, is the sincerest form of flattery.
Successful men and women have often shared their techniques in self-help books and on blogs. While the following information is neither a rubric nor a guide to success, it does contain strategies and ideas that can help success become slightly more attainable.
Steve Jobs, Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg
These three men may seem like a strange group, but they are share a similar strategy. They, among with many other successful people, often wear the same clothing. This does not mean that they do not wash their clothing, but rather they are limiting the amount of decisions they make in one day.
When I first heard this, I scoffed at the idea. I was most certainly not going to wear the same outfit every day. However, there is an interesting ideology behind this notion. The point of this is to try to eliminate the amount of decisions made on trivial things, so that more time and energy can be spent on the important things.
I am not endorsing anyone to wear the same outfit everyday; I do agree with the philosophy behind such an idea, and I think it could be implemented in other places. Too often, we spend time and energy on what truly does not matter. If all this time and energy was focused on the real problems, who knows what would accomplished?
Ruth B. Ginsburg
As the first female Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg has left a strong legacy for women everywhere. When asked for advice, Ginsburg has mentioned, specifically in a speech at Stanford University, that her mother-in-law gave her some of the best advice. She told Ginsburg that it may be best “to be a little deaf.” This does not mean to flat out ignore people, but to pick one’s fights.
In order to be successful, it is almost always necessary to get along with the people around you. As another successful female, Taylor Swift, sang, “haters gonna hate.” Stooping to someone’s level only brings one down, it never raises any one up. There will always be someone who does not agree, but as both Swift and Ginsburg have shown, it does not matter in the long run.
Walt Disney
There are unlimited possibilities to talk about with this man and his success, but I like to focus on one of his quotes:
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible,” Disney said.
Success only occurs when one goes outside their comfort zone. A common mindset is that if something is too hard, then it is not worth doing. The opposite should in fact be true; if something is hard, or seems impossible, that is what makes it enjoyable. Success may in fact seem impossible, but by simply changing one’s outlook, success may be attainable.
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