Is there a Secret to Success?

I recently came across a blog post titled, “The one secret to successful blogging”. Of course, I was hooked and I decided to go ahead and read the entire post.

When I was finished I was more disappointed than anything else. Looking back, I think whenever I have come across any post or article that promises to reveal the “only” secret to anything, I have only faced disappointment.

It would, therefore, be safe to say  that there is no one secret for succeeding in anything.

Most of the time, if you come across anyone telling you that they know the secret to anything, rest assured they are trying to sell you something. The secret is for sale, and they have to get  you interested in buying it. And, it is not hard for them to get you interested, because who would not like to know “the secret”.

So, I decided to do a “One Secret to Success” post myself. In the end, you can judge  for yourself whether this post was disappointing, or worth reading.

Before I begin, I would repeat that there is no one secret to become successful in anything. Different people have to try different things. What may work for me, may not necessarily work for you.

Now, that we have got that out of the way, let’s try to get at what a secret to success may be, assuming it exists.

Success = Ability  X Willingness

This is as simple as it gets. To succeed, an individual has to be able, and willing.

You have to do an analysis for yourself, and find out which of the two factors you need to work upon. While ability can, to a great extent, be an innate characteristic, there is always a scope for improvement. As a writer, for example, you may have been born with a certain amount of talent, but you can always add to that by working upon your writing style, and increasing your vocabulary  – to use the right word at the right place.

Willingness is something that can be measured in terms of how badly you want something. You will often come across smokers who are always saying that they want to quit. But, it is obvious that they are not willing enough, because if they were, they would have quit by now. They just don’t want it badly enough.

Willingness, therefore, is the force that propels you to success. Sometimes, you may believe that you want to succeed, but maybe you are just not willing enough to make the sacrifices that are needed to succeed.

Lastly, if you have either ability or willingness in abundance, nothing can stop you from succeeding. But, if you are like the rest of us, you will have to find that perfect balance between ability and willingness, which will guide you on your way to Success.