Success is a four-letter word

You may not be familiar with the name Chris Archer, but this Major League baseball player pitched in minor leagues for 8 long years before starting for the Tampa Bay Rays.  In 2016, a year in which his team lost 90 games, Archer said: “You either win or you learn…”  Today Chris Archer plays for the famous Pittsburgh Pirates and earns $3 million per year.  In a recent interview with Time Magazine he said: “It takes 10 years to become an overnight success…”

This year pop star Ava Max became a household name with her hit single Sweet but Psycho, but only last week, at the Isle of MTV festival in Malta, the singer said:  “It’s been over 10 years that I’ve been wanting to break into it.  It’s been a crazy journey to get where I’m at now, I can’t believe I haven’t given up.  But I’m still here.”

It takes indeed 10 years to become an overnight success…Okay, okay, unless of course your name is Robert Pattinson after only one Twilight movie, or Susan Boyle after only one audition for Britain’s got talent, or of course, Justin Bieber, after only one YouTube video…

No, here’s the thing – it’s NEVER overnight.  Even the infamous Justin Bieber regularly posted videos before he was recognised.  In his case it was just early success, and indeed not overnight success. There is not one person who just woke up one morning – renowned and successful.  No matter what it looks like from the outside, success IS a four-letter word – TIME.  Success is a long-term project and usually a constant work in progress.

Every time a player at Wimbledon wins the title, it’s preceded by hours of hard work, practising, losing, winning.  Every time an actor wins an Oscar, it’s preceded by hundreds of auditions, hours upon hours of study, years of working small gigs to get to that point.  On many occasions people’s success seem sudden or overnight to us simply because we haven’t heard of them before.  That doesn’t mean they didn’t exist or a lot of other people didn’t know of them… Okay, yes, so maybe Justin Bieber and Mark Zuckerberg did not endure the decades of trial and error most of us have; yet that doesn’t mean their success was void of effort, disappointment and struggle…

Every overnight success you have ever heard of or thought about was anything but overnight. In fact, overnight success is statistically so rare that people would have a better chance at “succeeding” by playing the lottery!  I find it incredible when I meet people who have been bouncing from one pyramid structure to another, or from one diet pill to another, and still think they will soon find the right trick to “hack” life.  It breaks my heart.

Here is the golden nugget: the only way to “hack” life is by working hard.

A successful career usually requires a lot of grunt work before that sprint of success gets set into motion.  Same goes for our bodies.  Did you know that cyclists under the age of 28 rarely win big races like The Tour de France?  Why?  Simply because it takes them years to build the strength, stamina and mindset you need to win.

Nobody just wakes up one day, magically looking like a fitness model for Women’s Health Magazine after a few six-minute ab sessions in the gym.  Unless you’re blessed with bionic genes, it takes months and years of training and choking down salads and protein shakes to achieve the highest level of fitness.  It takes years of consistent effort.  Shortcuts don’t exist, no matter how smart you work.

Which, really, should be a comforting thought to us.  All YOUR hard work can pay off so that, you too, can one day be an overnight success.  You didn’t miss out on anything or miss the opportunity to become one – you’re simply still working your way there.

What lesson is there for us in all of this?  Sure, there’s a chance you could land an amazing gig at the top of your field tomorrow.  But if you did, would you be able to perform that role successfully?  The nice thing about a steady rise to the top is that, along the way, you gain the skills and stamina necessary to succeed –  working your butt off, having determination, creativity, passion, patience, courage, humility, connecting one-on-one with people and working your butt off again…☺

You don’t need special talent or skills to succeed in life.  If you are willing to take the long road, achieve one goal after the other, you’ll succeed.  You can achieve big things with small consistent actions that build up over time, whether it’s a skill, improvement in your body stats or working on your relationships.

…While I’m writing this Blog now I’m sitting on the wooden deck in the beautiful bush camp of Mjejane, listening to the cry of a fish eagle and enjoying the peaceful untouched African splendour.  It’s our first weekend away in months, and we have been looking forward to this getaway with our kids for weeks… As I see the sun breaking over the horizon, I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude. Grateful for an amazing family and the opportunity to do what I love.  Like actress Jurnee Smollet-Bell recently said: “I walk in a space of gratitude…”

…It really feels that 10 years of extremely hard work and dedication has now fallen into place.  Our members seem content and are plentiful, we have been getting so much appreciative attention and exposure on social media, and it seems that more and more people are visiting our website and reading this weekly Blog.

And yet, I can’t help thinking of the words of the former professional tennis player Arthur Ashe.  He said: “Success is a journey, not a destination.”  It’s like reaching your target weight after a long struggle.  On that day it’s not simply mission accomplished – then the hustle REALLY starts to maintain that weight.  Once you become successful or known, then the hard work begins – staying there. 

I was thinking about this on our 3-hour drive to Mjejane Friday morning – I know I feel like Ava Max when I’m on my little stage in the studio.  No, not singing my heart out…☺☺☺ Ava says when she’s on stage she feels like she grows wings… Me too.

But Friday morning I had to cut short our step class in order to leave on time – Reflecting back on that class I was wondering – wasn’t I a bit impatient, was I really accommodating and encouraging enough?  Am I taking my wonderful tribe for granted, or am I still appreciative enough of everyone who enters our studio and chooses to join?

I do hope so.  With all my heart.  Because I realise the problem with success is, when we get used to how things are, it’s easy to stop caring about our actions.  We can easily switch on autopilot and just sit back.  I’m sure that is what pop star Jon Bon Jovi meant when he said: “Don’t get too comfortable with who you are at any given time – you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be…”

…The road to success is a marathon, not a sprint.  IT.  TAKES.  TIME…If you consistently demonstrate a strong work ethic, those around you will forgive you your human errors. They will not only respect you, but possibly aspire to be like you as well.  I’m not promising you a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics or that you’ll become the next Zuckerberg.  But you’ll get there if you put in the work.  Who cares if it’s tomorrow or 20 years?  It WILL happen.  That’s all that matters.

Yours in fitness

Mirna

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