Given that it’s early January, it’s hardly surprising that my social feeds have been littered with variations on a ‘Success Strategies for 2023’ theme these last few days.
“This is what Steven Bartlett does!”
“Steve Jobs’ secrets to success!”
On one level, I like this approach. None of us have all the answers, so picking up ideas and tools from other people is sensible. But there’s a problem when it gets over-simplified. I’m not Simon Sinek. You’re not Brené Brown. None of us are Elon Musk. [Thankfully]. We are different people. Our situation and experiences are different. And so, what worked for ‘insert-random-famous-person’ may not work for us.
It’s crucial to spend time learning new things – to grow, and I’m continually recommending strategies I’ve picked up from the books and podcasts and courses I’ve taken. However, at the same time, we need to develop the self-awareness to know ourselves. The whole ‘5am-Kickstart-Your-Day’ thing? If that works for you – great. But it’s definitely not for me!
It’s tempting to go looking for shortcuts and hacks – but I don’t believe they exist, because we all have different definitions of ‘success’. Instead, it’s a process of experimenting with different strategies. As we find the ones that work for us, our thinking evolves, and a new version of ‘us’ emerges.
Experiment. Evolve. Emerge.
Ultimately, it takes patience and persistence to uncover what success means to each of us as individuals.
Where do we start with all this?
We go looking.
