I’ve seen many an entrepreneurship class, both as a student and as a teacher.  I’ve been a protégé and a mentor. I’ve been a pupil and a teacher. I’ve coached and been coached.  In that time, many have asked my opinion on success. Whether in a business setting or frankly, any endeavor, my three keys to success are talent, ambition and teaching.

Talent

God-given. My 8-year old son has my “speed” genes. So I have chosen not to put dreams of Olympic sprinter or NFL wide receiver into his head. But he’s tall, with long arms and big hands and he has a strong, flexible arm. So I’m encouraging him to pursue throwing sports like pitching baseball, which will hopefully give him the highest probability of success. If you have talent, use it.  If you don’t, do something else.

Ambition

Passion, desire, intellectual curiosity.  Webster’s defines ambition as a “strong desire for success.”  This “desire” manifests itself in the form of a willingness to put in the work necessary to be successful.  A top mentor of mine, Frank Demmler, used to ask me if I had “fire in the belly.”  Without it, even the most talent-laden are doomed for failure.  Do what keeps you up at night; and what makes you leap out of bed in the morning.

Teaching

Education.  Coaching.  Training.  You need a solid framework of understanding of your profession.  You need someone to offer a different perspective, to help you more deeply understand; to challenge you.  Michael Phelps has a coach.  So does Ben Roethlisberger.  You need one too.

You don’t need to be great in all three areas but you should be superior in at least one or two of them and average or better in all.  The most successful people in the world are those with superior skills in all three. 

Thanks for serving.

Comments