We often think we need to mirror the actions of those with success in order to achieve it. They’ve accomplished great things, so wouldn’t we be more likely to succeed by copying them? It appears simple and easy to implement, which is why so many people fall into this way of thinking. I think we need to strive to be better than them. This is a task that seems impossible, because how could we achieve success greater than our idols? Actually, the same way that they did. They didn’t win by copying their role models, but by having a passion so great that the “right” thing to do announced itself and the “wrong” thing wasn’t an option in the first place. This sense of clarity comes only to people with a strong passion in what they’re doing. It doesn’t come to people who are too caught up in what their idols would do, and it doesn’t come to people who think that greatness is in the material. I think everything is downstream of that passion. Discipline, for example, appears overly constraining to most. People can’t fathom how someone can spend so much time doing one thing. It seems neurotic, crazy, and sometimes rather unhealthy. However, I think the opposite. The person who is in love with what they’re doing so deeply that they can spend their entire day doing it is in a state of freedom that far exceeds what the normal person has ever experienced. It’s a state of raw expression that breathes life into them, and allows these people to do what seems impossible. But frankly, they wouldn’t be able to have that “discipline” in the first place if they weren’t called to it. At least, they wouldn’t be able to spend their whole lives doing it. (And I think that’s the goal - to find something you can do for the rest of your life.) Your vocation is like a river. Some people are strong swimmers, and can paddle against the current (i.e. away from your calling) for a small while. But once the current strengthens, they’re pulled from the thing they spent so much energy trying to obtain. It’s much more effective to swim in the direction of the current, and move with the governing forces of our nature. This makes it sound easy, but it’s actually quite difficult. Right now, we’re swayed by an endless number of distractions. And, more often than not, people are more intent on masquerading as successful than actually achieving it. There are two important factors, and they both fall under your control. The first is direction. If you’re moving in the wrong one, it doesn’t matter how fast you progress or how good your life may seem. Sooner or later, things will break. Two inevitable outcomes come to mind. Life becomes miserable enough that you find what actually brings you fulfillment. Then, you abandon what didn’t and start from scratch. Or, you push further and realize, in the end, that you haven’t found fulfillment in the one life you were given. The second factor is consistency. You can be pointed in the right direction, doing the very thing you were called to do, and you will still face problems. The death of someone close to you, a health complication, or another misfortune that is entirely out of your control. Consistency is the thing that keeps you moving during those times, and separates the good from the great. The analogy of the river doesn’t cover all nuances, and the annoying fact of life is that some things will be boring. That’s a byproduct of the uncontrollable and a condition of the world we live in. Everyone has to pay their bills, file taxes, and do their laundry (or pay someone to do it for them). But at the end of the day, if you’re pointed in the right direction (or making your best attempt at it) and consistent despite the things out of your control, you will achieve success.