There's something that's been going round my head a lot lately, because somehow, without any help, the penny dropped. Once it dropped, the realisation was so great, I HAD to tell someone - you.
You don't have to be poor to become successful. (Nor do you have to have a crazy life that dragged you into the dirt multiple times, beat you unconscious until you almost died and so on...)
Every successful person who has managed to become who they are today started off pretty much the same: they weren't very fortunate people, with tough childhoods, not many opportunities and endured many more difficulties and so on. The stories are almost identical, which is why some of us tend to make jokes about them.
If you still don't get what I'm talking about, here are a few examples for you to understand:
Dwane 'The Rock' Johnson (actor and former professional wrestler) was bullied as a child in school.
Elon Musk (businessman, entrepeneur, CEO...) was born and raised in South Africa where he didn't have much. The relationship between his parents was toxic and his mother used to get abused.
Ingvar Kamprad (billionaire and founder of Ikea) dropped out of school at the age of 17.
J.K Rowling (author of the famous Harry Potter books) was divorced, a single mother and her books were rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsburg gave her a chance.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (the GOATS of football) both had a difficult start, having to rise from poor families in their poor hometowns and travel large distances to pursue their careers despite not having much.
The list of achievers can go on and on and we can all start listing how these people did what they did, pointing out lucky moments in their careers and so on, but that's not why they all have such background stories. It's actually because people with other background stories don't make it.
Yup. I'm not making a mistake here. But I am going to just change the question from 'Why do all successful people have cliche background stories?' to 'Why is it that people with other background stories don't make it?'
Here's what I realised:
Everyone wants success and tries to achieve it. Different methods are used because each individual is unique and everyone's definition of success is different. There's no problem here. The problem lies in the journey to success: in the process of striving for that success the person's character and personality are tested. Because of this test, some people give up on their dreams halfway because they can't endure the challenges; some people make bad decisions and drive themselves into to the ground; some people can't be asked to even start; and some people make it.
The ones that made it to wonderful success all tried hard. They all persevered. When they were at their lowest, they picked themselves up and kept on going. They refused to let themselves give up. Sometimes they had someone to support them and keep pushing them forward. But that's only sometimes. What they all had were haters and demons and obstacles to battle against - some had more than others. But no matter what, they kept going.
In the end, those who are successful are an elite group of people who worked hard. They got to where they are because of who they are. And the backstory? It was their motivation. It was their drive. It was what they wanted to change and avoid in the future, so they used it as their fuel. But it was only their fuel. Nothing more, nothing less.
That's why the secret to success is not to start poor; the secret to success is to work hard and and strive for your goals. So no matter who you are, or what your backstory is, you can become successful. You just have to embark on a journey that will test you, change you, mould you so that you really are fit to reach the other side.
From everyone's story though, it just so happens that it is those who start off poor that are more likely to make it to the other side (possibly because the other option on how they can live their life isn't decent enough). But don't you think that it is time to remind everybody that the secret to success is not starting off poor? And that just because you have a decent lifestyle doesn't mean you can't have a better one?
In that case, I'll race you to the other side of this journey. Good luck beating me! ;P
Comentarios