The In and On of Success

 image: graynaturalhair - flickr

As I’ve made my way through the twists and turns of entrepreneurship and the attendant processes involved with striving for success over the past couple years, I’ve noticed a subtle, but important, quirk in the journey. I would be willing to bet that everyone reading this has noticed it too. It is the difference between two very similar little words that work very well together – “in” and “on.” Everyone has heard of being “on the path to success.”  Less often heard, however, is being “in the path of success.”  The concept certainly isn’t new and, in fact, much of the self-improvement literature that sits in my library is organized around it.  But I wanted to address the in along with its more famous partner in the context of my own observations of the beautiful success combination they create – the perfect one-two punch, so to speak. 

The on is the bedrock upon which the success infrastructure of all future actions, reactions, pivots, divots and homeruns will be built.

When we begin to consciously shape our own destinies, we are certainly treading on the path to success, and this is exactly where all of us hope to remain, or at least get back to as quickly as possible when we veer off course.  The on is the bedrock upon which the success infrastructure of all future actions, reactions, pivots, divots and homeruns will be built. It is the steady-as-she-goes marathon nature of the entrepreneurial race we’ve all heard about.  The on is the late-night, too much Red Bull, nose-to-the-grindstone, thousandth iteration, take it from the top, blood, sweat, and tears of bootstrapping.  It is the meat of the journey. And it certainly is not the sexy cocktail party catalyst, shot from the blue, overwhelmingly awesome big break, we seek.  But the beautiful part about the on is that it always comes with the in in tow, serving as just that kind of delightful and unexpected serendipity.

Through continued effort and practice we will all find ourselves visiting the wonderful intersection of in and on quite regularly.

If the on is the slow rowing journey, then the in is the blast of adventure filling your sails, pushing you further and faster down your path.  If you persevere and stay true to the on, you can be sure that the in will wind up on your front porch with a camera crew and an oversized check someday.  You can’t see the in coming, but you’ll notice that it visits more frequently as you march with passionate focus toward your future.  Through continued effort and practice we will all find ourselves visiting the wonderful intersection of in and on quite regularly.

If you haven’t yet witnessed or recognized this magical duo in your life, you soon will. And once you do, you’ll want to help others to recognize it as well.  Another favorite expression of mine sums up this concept nicely…you make your own luck.

Is it magic? Maybe.

Give it a try and let me know how it turns out for you.

See you further on down the path.

Comments

[bigdaddyj]

RE: "The In and On of Success"

Delightfully eloquent and inspiring.

[Andy]

:)