The secret to becoming an overnight success in business is not simply about starting with why… it’s about starting with love.
We hear legends passed down from generations of books and screens and bedtime stories about people who wake up from the numbed out nightmare of infinite obscurity to embrace the American birthright of overnight success.
…we like to believe that if we play the cards right we will one day emerge from our cocoon into a fully realized and brilliant butterfly of our own personal legend.
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Some people dive out of the birth canal into a hand of cards that simply can’t lose. Many more people find they’ve been drafted into a life of intense and impossible struggle. As much as we can’t control our origin stories, we like to believe that if we play the cards right we will one day emerge from our cocoon into a fully realized and brilliant butterfly of our own personal legend.
Put another way? We all believe in the myth of the overnight success.
This is why we can’t tear our eyes away from the parade that is American Idol, the Powerball lottery, and viral Kindle books like “50 Shades of Grey.” It could be us one day… or our kids one day… or it could have been us if we’d only been luckier.
The reality is that overnight successes are usually people who have been moving forward while the rest of the world is asleep.
Yes, most successful people employ a level of work-ethic outside of the ordinary… but then, doctors and lawyers and most corporate freelancers these days are working hours that nobody would call healthy, legal or free.
…it’s been shocking to most people to find out that work is not the key.
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It definitely takes work, but there’s more to it than that. In fact, after having coached successful people in the entertainment business for the past 5 years, it’s been shocking to most people to find out that work is not the key.
Step one of becoming an overnight success is about clarity around your intrinsic goodness… pre-judgment you.
You need to learn to love yourself without needing a good reason.
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If you’re going to be successful, you need to find an unassailable position of self-confidence. You need to believe in yourself at a level rooted deep enough to withstand years of torrential downpour and flooding. You need to learn to love yourself without needing a good reason.
I’m an entrepreneur with 4 little books that have been best-sellers. I’ve been on TV and in print a dozen times. Millions of people have seen my stuff on the web. I’ve had clients at household branded corporations and I’ve had security clearance to sit in high level government meetings. And it has taken me years of struggle to create (something resembling) a sustainable income through all of that.
The breakthroughs in income and in reach I’ve had in the past year have all come from a letting go of trying to prove I have value to offer, and instead simply offering what I know is valuable in me. It’s hard. It’s work. It happens at the unconscious level… which demands intense conscious attention.
It’s the foundation. You can’t build strong strategies and tactics without it. If you don’t believe me… here’s somebody on a stage who might be able to convince you.
If you like this… here’s more to read:
5 Reasons to Sell Everything and Move to Hawaii
6 Sexy Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Make Better Lovers
These Guys Are Redefining How We “Say it With Flowers”
That’s interesting. I have been thinking about this lately. When I go on twitter and make connections, it is done with a selfish intent in mind, but not necessarily. I think we have to be selfish in action to an extent, but when it comes from a place of goodness, love, or mutual gain — then the word “selfish” doesn’t seem so bad anymore.
Still haven’t come full circle with my thoughts yet, though.
Thanks for the article Dale!
We’ve been told selfish is patently wrong… but that’s such a flawed concept. Learning to love ourselves is a key to learning how to love others. I’m not talking narcissism, I’m talking genuine self-awareness and gratitude for existence. Every act of service has to originate from that self-love.