The Failure of Success
Twenty-five years ago, the renowned motivational speaker Les Brown gave a speech titled “You’ve Got to Be Hungry” In the speech, he told of his difficult upbringing and said that no matter your circumstances, if you are hungry and if you have drive, you can make your dreams come true.
Before Conrad Hilton created the megacompany Hilton Hotels, his business was failing, and he was financially broke. In 1931, about to go bankrupt, Hilton flew to New York City to see the newly built Waldorf Astoria. While he sat in the Waldorf Astoria grand ballroom, he wondered what was missing from his business formula. He reflected on the principles his parents had taught him, which included faith and prayer. He also contemplated that success had much to do with talent and enthusiasm but also that those concepts alone wouldn’t suffice. While he sat in the grand ballroom, Hilton realized the missing piece: you have to dream!
From that moment on, Hilton began dreaming bigger than he had before. He took a picture of himself standing in front of the Waldorf Astoria while he was still broke. He also took a cutout picture of the hotel and wrote across the front of it, “The Greatest of Them ALL.” When he returned home, he kept the picture under the glass tabletop on his desk, where he could see the picture every day. He told himself that one day the hotel would be his. In his autobiography, Be My Guest, Hilton states, “Fifteen years later, in October, 1949, ‘The Greatest of Them All’ became a Hilton Hotel.”
Like Hilton, are you thinking big enough? Are there dreams you desire to achieve? Having ambition and a “burning desire,” according to Napoleon Hill (self-help author), is where it all begins. A never-ending hunger for achievement is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Think about it: when you were young (maybe you still are), you took chances. Taking risks was part of the game.
High achievers are never satisfied. It’s as if they have something to prove. They are always thinking, “How can I do it better? What more can I do? I will not be satisfied until I win.” These rare people set standards that others are measured by. They’re always demanding more from themselves than anyone could ever expect of them. Is this you?
Maybe you can remember when you were tempted to think, “This is good enough,” only to have a small voice inside saying, “No. You can do more!” Have you had those days?
During my twenty-year career of writing books and speaking on the subject of achievement and leadership, I have had countless conversations with many people who have privately shared with me the discontent in their lives. I have even spoken with executives who feel deep down that they have more within them to achieve or contribute. I give them some encouragement and challenge them to start taking action only to see them months later and learn they have not even taken the first step. Unfortunately, they are limited by their comfort with the status quo, or they fear the unknown.
If you have been fortunate enough to achieve your goals, have you set new ones? The truth is that once you have achieved a goal, it is common to lose drive and creativity. So, updating goals is vital to long-term effectiveness. My suggestion is to reflect on your life or your business and determine where you’re at. Are you where you want to be? Are you satisfied? If so, you are unlikely to exert more energy than is necessary to maintain your status.
I challenge you to self-reflect, “What else is there for me to do? How can I contribute more? What inner desires must I work toward that would bring more meaning into my life?” In other words, update your goals.
The English author George Eliot once stated, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”
Norman Maclean retired in 1973 from teaching at the University of Chicago, and rather than quietly drifting into retirement, he chose to write. In 1976, at age eighty-seven, he wrote the acclaimed bestseller A River Runs Through It.
Selma Plaut was in her late nineties when she decided to earn a college degree. She attended the University of Toronto and even lived in the same dormitory as her great-granddaughter. By her hundredth birthday, Plaut graduated. On graduation day, wearing her cap and gown, the local newspaper asked her, “What kind of a degree did you earn?” It was said that she responded with, “I got a history degree. I’ve lived most of it; I might as well get credit for it.” Additionally, according to the Associated Press, July 13, 1990, Pluat said, “she enjoys learning.”
Always learning, growing, and achieving is a choice — as is your attitude. I find it inspirational that the London Palladium was sold out for George Burns’s hundredth birthday party years before his one hundredth birthday.
These examples, and many more like them, represent an attitude to continuously grow. What’s your vision? What do you want your legacy to be?
Here Are Six Steps to Increase Your Ambition:
1. DESIRE:You have to DREAM. You must want to live with deeper purpose and meaning. You must want to make a difference.
2. DEFINE: Take time to clearly identify what you want to achieve. Is it emotional and exciting? Is it small or audacious and bold? Clarity is power. When you become clear about your goals, resources and opportunities will appear to support your vision.
3. DECIDE: The force of all action begins at the moment you make a “true decision” to act Make a 100 percent commitment, and decide to act with courage in the face of fear. Working on new goals will likely cause you to stretch, and it’s not always comfortable to stretch, but that is where the results exist — outside your comfort zone.
4. DEMAND: Demand the best from yourself. Have you ever noticed that the word “satisfaction” ends with the word “action?” In Latin, the word satismeans “enough.” The ancient Romans knew that enough action would produce satisfaction. Hold yourself accountable to your commitments. Don’t think doing the minimum will win the prize. Demand more from yourself.
5. DWELL: Impress the mind with images and thoughts of achieving your goals daily. Your new goal must be a dominant focus. Imagine, with energy and enthusiasm, achieving the desired result and the positive impact it will have on you and others. Dwelling daily on your goals in detail will create strong beliefs, and once they are formed, your mind will unconsciously work overtime to make your new goal a reality.
6. DRIVE: Take consistent action with a full, purposeful heart. Motivation, in large part, is produced within the self when you take action and receive feedback. Action produces a result, and the feedback creates a sense of progress.
May you find or rekindle your ambition to unleash your greatness within!
TJ Hoisington
Bestselling author, speaker, leadership strategist, and columnist. www.GreatnessWithin.com
