Overnight Success is a Myth
If you're not living under a rock, then you've heard these 'overnight success' stories. In todays world of social media it seems like everywhere you turn there's someone using shortcuts to quickly climb their way to the fortune or fame.
"If they can accomplish so much so fast, what the hell is wrong with me? I better give up 'cause I'm never gonna get there at this pace."
We all have these thoughts wandering in our mind that make us feel like we are failures. Until we discover the real truth behind them.
I'm convinced that there is no such thing as overnight success, that someone can go from zero to hero by being lucky or by taking shortcuts. Or it's just a statistical anomaly. Usually behind overnight sensations are years and years of hard work, trying and failing and learning the hard way. And when that thing finally blows up, it looks like they just started working on it. The truth is, no one will knock on our door one morning and say "congratulations, you've been awarded with this perfect life you're dreaming of." Success is not delivered with the morning newspapers.
In the early 1900s Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold lady ran up to him.
- "Hey, Picasso, could you draw my portrait"?
- "Sure", he replied. He took a piece of paper and sketched identical portrait of this lady in 30 seconds and handed it over to her.
- "It's perfect! You managed to capture my essence in just 30 seconds. How much do I owe you?"
- "That would be $10000, ma'am", he replied confidently.
- "10000? But it took you only 30 seconds to draw it."
- He stopped what he was doing and looked at her - "It took me 30 years to be able to draw it perfectly in 30 seconds."
I've paraphrased it, but you get the gist. That time, that 5 or 30 years or however long it takes you, that effort you put behind the scenes, that bottom of the iceberg that can't be seen from the outside - that's what makes 'overnight success' possible.
We live in a hyper fast times where people want better jobs, fit body, more money in just 3 easy steps, and they want it before dinner. The fact that we expect success right away and fear failure, means that we don't value learning and growth and experience we accumulate along the way. That's what's most important. Winning comes eventually as a consequence.
We should think of the Steemit that way. Dedication and hard work of people behind the scenes and patience and motivation among the community will lead to the inevitable success.
Have you ever been seduced by the idea of overnight success? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences.
Hope you liked this! If you do, don't forget to upvote and resteem it. Also make sure to follow @alcibiades to stay updated about future posts .
I find a lot of truth in this!
First of all, its not really good to compare ourselves against others. Might be better to just have the goal of competing against ourselves.
In many cases, we never hear of a person until they reach some success. Two examples from the music world come to mind. Katy Perry was a struggling Christian singer during her teen years which laid the groundwork for her later pop success I would imagine. Billy Gibbons was playing guitar for the fantastic Texas psychedelic/garage band The Moving Sidewalks who were popular locally but never hit it big. He then went on to huge success with ZZ Top.
People who appear out of nowhere were often honing their skills for years before their mainstream success. Steemit may take a few more years to hit it big, and there will likely be many changes a long the way. I personally like discovering a musical act or a tech device or platform before the crowd. Its fun to follow their journey, wherever it may lead!
I am here to enjoy the ride with Steemit up to the 99th floor!
@kenny-crane As a thank you for being an active customer on TradeQwik the only exchange that powers up our cold wallet and uses it to upvote our customers, your most recent post or comment has been upvoted at 100%
Thank you and keep steeming!
Exactly. We only only see the facade and think success happened overnight, but don't see thousands of hours of hustling put in it. Good examples from music business. But it's the same everywhere - even people like Lebron, entered the league young, you would think it happened over night for him, but there are fifteen years of hard work seven days a week behind it.
If you enjoy the ride, then there's no need for instant gratification.
There is so much truth in this post!
"Nothing worth having comes easy." - I believe in this :)
Upvoted and resteemed!
That's a great quote! If you don't earn it with hard, passionate work, then the success means nothing. Thanks for the comment and resteem! :)
This is one of my favs I've read all week. Thanks
Thank You for reading and a nice comment!
@alcibiades, I love this post. Sorry took me so long to read it. Today's society stands by the microwave and yells HURRY UP! Thanks for articulating this concept so effectively. All the best to you!
I'm glad you liked it, @rocketbeee! That's a great metaphor. In todays world of social media we want everything instantly, instead of focusing on growth and enjoying the process. Thanks for stopping by! It would be nice if older posts get some attention in the future, not just the fresh ones. :)
The most frustrating thing are hours and years of hard work that lead to nothing. This is something that may crush you.
That can be disappointing, indeed. But I guess if you love what you do, experience and wisdom you get from trying and failing will mean something in the end.