LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Is Success Obvious ?
Action “ speaks louder than words ,” said Mark Twain . “ But not nearly as often .”
Twain was a brilliant writer about the obvious . “ Clothes make the man . Naked people have very little influence on society .” Also , “ The secret of getting ahead is getting started .” Brilliant , but obvious .
The concept of “ secrets to success ” has been around for ages , with countless books , seminars , videos , movies and articles written on the subject . Yet , many in our society feel that real success is shrouded in mystery for the benefit and profit of wizards or only those with a special “ success ” ingredient they don ’ t possess : luck , a willingness to take advantage of others , a skill or talent you were born with .
Truth be told , this is all nonsense . It ’ s a lame excuse people use for their failure to achieve and get ahead in whatever their chosen endeavor is . Over and over again as I interact with , interview and study successful people , like this month ’ s cover story on Magic Johnson , I ’ m again reminded how mundane , ordinary and OBVIOUS the path to success in anything truly is .
Of course some people have advantages in certain ways . It certainly helps that Magic Johnson was TALL , but that in and of itself doesn ’ t guarantee he would be the stellar basketball player , athlete and entrepreneur that he became . In the same way it helps that I like to write , but it doesn ’ t guarantee I ’ d build a multi-million-dollar business and media company from scratch , having the ability to write sales materials ( campaigns ) that have produced millions .
One of the most unpopular ideas in our society to utter is that some people deserve the miserable conditions they get . They refuse to work hard , study , read and apply themselves . No , not everyone has what it takes to be a Magic Johnson , but everyone certainly can do things to make their life , health , relationships and finances better – but do they ?
I ’ ve been in the “ success ” industry for over 30 years , 20 in the specific endeavor of helping MSPs with marketing , and here ’ s what I can tell you . My biggest challenge is coming up with new ways , new “ wrappers ” or ways of discussing , presenting and teaching OLD core principles of success . Truth is , there aren ’ t that many “ new ” ways to succeed . New businesses ? Yes . New innovations ? Of course . But the core principles of marketing , selling , time management , leading a team , providing service and value are all the SAME . This is why so many people jump from guru to guru , success book to success book , seeking THE path , but simply end up jumping around like a grasshopper with hemorrhoids getting nowhere fast .
If you want to achieve more in any area , have a look in the mirror . If you ’ re jealous of other ’ s success because you feel it was undeserved or that life has been unfair and held you back , be ashamed . Stop looking for a hack , a trick or an easy path – get to WORK on YOU doing the fundamentals and you ’ ll be shocked at what ’ s possible .
Sincerely ,
Founder & CEO Technology Marketing Toolkit , Inc
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