Success is easy if you have the right people supporting you. Listening to your everyday struggles and encouraging you to go further, When you surround yourself with people who are not afraid to give you a piece of their mind, of pointing out your flaws. And when you are happy to take them in your stride and work to overcome them. Selective humility is a virtue of the successful.
Success is easy if you are being kicked all over the field by your boss/coach/research guide. It means they have not given up on you. They have hope. They see something in you which perhaps you yourself don’t. They know you have not tapped into your inner potential just yet.
Success is easy when you have role models around you. When you hear people making it based on just their grit and conviction. Success is easy when you believe in a version of the American Dream. When you believe that hardwork is the only thing you need to reach your goals. When you believe that the world is conspiring to extend very opportunity to you, you just need to extend your hands to grasp them.
"Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to ye"
Success is easy when you believe in yourself. When you have a somewhat pseudo assurance, a trust in your abilities, in face of evidence to the contrary, that you are meant for greatness. When you have what some may call a false arrogance, because if you have that, you will not settle for anything less. You will not take the easy path, you will not shy away from challenges.
Success is easy when you have professionalism, it is easy when you consistently choose to do the right thing even when and especially when no one is watching; things have a funny way of compounding, if you play by the rules, help everyone that you can on the way, not be haughty, and respect people around you, all of that comes back to you in ways you cannot even imagine.
Success is easy when you celebrate the little things, the mini achievements. When you cultivate a culture where minor steps in the correct direction are applauded. That creates a virtuous cycle. Who amongst us is not hungry for fame and recognition and appreciation. When you positively reinforce minor success you and people around you will work towards the next goal with a renewed zeal, secretly craving for that appreciation.
Success is not easy, it is hard work, it is sleepless nights, it is failing multiple times, it is losing the trust in yourself and finding it again, it is getting up, dusting yourself and getting back in the saddle, it is not giving up when everyone around you is, it is not settling for the ordinary.
In the end, that is what makes life worth living.
