How to Get the Midas Touch

I got another life lesson and inspiration for success from a Korean drama, more specifically a K-drama actor.

One of my favourite actors is Park Seo Joon, one of the most celebrated artists in South Korea. I watched one of his dramas, got hooked then went on to watch all of his works, they are all so good. He has the gift of presence but also that winning streak. However, his latest drama got mixed reviews and when you are that successful, the masses are quick to pick on the flaws.

All of a sudden the media stated that he lost his Midas, that he picked the wrong script or some even said he is just not that great an actor. Granted the new show was not that great but he lost none of what they say he did.

The Midas touch is a perception

Success begets success, they say. When someone is winning, they are the best, they are put on a pedestal. We humans do that to each other, we put others on a pedestal and we bring others down. And most of us doubt our own capacities to achieve, as if there was a magic wand that accompanies the Midas touch and turns every failure into a success.

What we perceive as success or luck or talent in others is only the tip of the iceberg. We can all have that Midas touch, and turn everything we want into gold (i.e. success in whatever shape or form). But it requires that mindset reframe: just because we failed does not mean we do not possess that ‘magical’ quality to win.

Midas touch is the aftermath of temporary defeat

In his work, Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill states:

Analyze temporary defeat, no matter of what nature or cause, and extract from it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

I was mindblown by that quote and it is so profound; the way he adds the word ‘temporary’ to defeat, means that is only a matter of time.

But most of us quit before that. What if we need to have the losing touches before obtaining that winning wand?

And we not only give up, but we also embrace it as part of our identity. Instead, we should aim for gold by analysing our losses: hat is the lesson there? what is not to be repeated? where should we reiterate?

But also what I learnt from Napoleon Hill, is to dissect the advantage that comes out of a failure. I have to admit it is very hard to think that way, to stay in that painful loss that is staring you in the face and making you feel so dejected but long enough to derive that equivalent advantage he talks about.

As a consequence, it also hones the skill to be better able to face rejection.

Rejection is a disease and like all diseases, we need to build immunity

Midas touch is a permanent mindset

Have you heard of those lottery winners who lost all their money later? It is no surprise that they were the lucky recipients of a short-term gift but they didn’t have the mindset to grow or sustain that wealth.

Along the same vein, have you heard about millionaires who lost their money but made it back later, in even greater amounts? They have the right mindset ingrained. They have learned through trial and error, and failures before finally finding the right switch. But who knows how many iterations that is going to take? And that makes the midas touch inaccessible when it is simple.

It is not a formula that can be shared, otherwise, we would be passing it around and we will all be basking in the joy of success. It is an equation obtained through hardship, personal advantages, the effort to think for oneself, seeing opportunities and building the power of intuition through experience. That is unique to each of us.

That is what the Midas touch is; the right mindset that needs to be achieved so that every project turns to gold, that even with temporary setbacks, the mindset thrives and takes you to the next level every time.

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The Midas touch is an utmost resolution to say no to failure, a refusal to accept the presence state as the rest of your life, that this too shall pass but being proactive in that endeavour and in the end become a catalyst in your unique success formula.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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From The Good Men Project on Medium

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