My Take: Success and Today’s Economy
I was once asked to write a book about “getting rich quick” and short of writing the obvious one sentence “win the lottery,” I didn’t have a lot to say. In my experience there is no way to get rich quick that isn’t preceded by hard work. Things that look like overnight successes generally aren’t. We just don’t hear about them until they are.
Ever since I learned about my Grandma Mollie coming to the U.S. all alone on a boat from Russia, leaving behind everyone and everything she knew, I’ve admired the courage it takes to strike out on one’s own. Over the years I’ve met a lot of self-made people, often as their lawyer when we are planning their estates and working to save taxes. As they’ve shared their stories with me, I’ve never ceased to be fascinated. Deep down I am searching for that nugget of wisdom to propel my own success.
Often I write about making money in one form or another, because I personally find the stories of successful people inspiring. The theme of making money and catching that next big wave – whatever it happens to be – is like a good virus that I too can catch. Just read one biography of someone like Rockefeller and you’ll see it is not magic, nor is it all goodness and light.
I agree with Napolean Hill who said in his classic 1937 work, Think and Grow Rich, that the two key ingredients for success are passion for what you do and doing whatever it takes to get what you want. Your mindset and drive are critical. They keep you open and searching and hungry. That fuels your pursuit.
In today’s economic reality, it is easy to let fear take over. There is no shortage of horror stories of folks who’ve lost their jobs, their homes and investments. Those who haven’t are frightened they will. Good fortune seems tenuous. Don’t lose sight of the fact that a changed financial environment doesn’t mean all is lost. Necessity is the mother of invention.
For those who are able to override their fear and start putting their efforts into rebuilding their lives in a way that enables them to be less dependent on others, this can be a turning point. Maybe an opportunity to make money in a righteous way by providing goods and services that are needed. Gone may be the days of working for “the man” to line someone else’s pocket and subsidize someone else’s greed. Also on its way out may be the faux economy fueled by never-ending materialism that never made sense.
While others are blathering about the sky falling, you can keep your eyes open for opportunitie. Take real estate, for example. It’s past its quick profit “flipping” hey day, but there are other ways to make money. It never loses its inherent value and prices are at an all time low. Maybe you buy and rent property instead of buying to flip. Rentals are at a premium so maybe that is the way to capitalize on your investment now.
“Magical” proverbs like “being at the right place at the right time,” seem to take the power out of our hands. When we look at others success it’s as if a lightening bolt sent by God himself blessed someone else, while we sat on the sidelines toiling (or worrying.) Have a little faith that not everything is luck or coincidence. To paraphrase Goethe, once you commit, all manner of forces in the universe align themselves to cheer you on and push you forward. You can be a successful person if you have the desire and put your action fully behind it.
Farmers are often considered the wisest people around because they know that you can’t plant a seed in the morning, and pick the fruit in the afternoon. Growing takes time. That’s the kind of cycle we are in now. It’s a good time to plant seeds, with the knowledge that growing may take some time.
It doesn’t matter whether you believe in hard work, the law of attraction or plain luck. Anyone’s success story germinates from a belief in themselves and a passion for what they do. Desire and the willingness to apply yourself are the nourishment you need to grow your success.