Turtles all the way down

Successful people are often respected because of their success. That rich guy must be smart if he got so rich. That successful business woman must have superb business skill to become and executive.

Maybe. Maybe not.

My theory on success goes something like this. You can control some extent of your success. Maybe it’s 50%, maybe more or less. Within your domain of control is making your best decisions, working hard, purpose, desire, and so on. But not everything is in your control.

Life puts you in a place, whether by genetics or the fortune of being born into wealth or opportunity. Think of this as a fixed point on a planar surface. For example, Michael Jordan was born with good genes for slam dunking a basketball. He worked hard to get as good as he was, but he had some help. Someone who was born a foot shorter with weak legs might have to work significantly hard to achieve the same thing, or might not be able to do so at all. Likewise, being born into wealth will likely lead to you having a better education and therefore more doors of opportunity opening up for you.

I’ve observed that some people are able to move away from this place they are born into more easily than others. Think of this as a radius extending from the fixed point, proscribing a circle of possibilities. Attribute the ability to brainpower, motivation, work ethic or more dumb luck, some have improved their place in life. We all know of the rags-to-riches stories, as well as individuals who have come back from severe injuries or setbacks. Other folks seem to think that things are the way they are and they cannot do much, or anything at all, to improve upon their lot.

I knew a woman who insisted she did not have the capability to learn any language other than English. Her English skills were quite good, she was an avid reader, and had a decent vocabulary. More than likely, she convinced herself that she couldn’t learn other languages, or just did not want to put make the effort to do so. This individual did not, or could not move away from her place.

I know plenty of other people who have. Some who were born into middle class families and are now wealthy. Conversely, I’ve met more than my share of successful people who were remarkably dull, unobservant, and in some cases not particularly bright. And for a great deal of these people, success was not repeatable. (If you got rich during the dot-com boom and have been struggling ever since, I’m talking about you. Yeah we all made good money in the late 90’s because it was easier to do so. Don’t confuse access to opportunity with genius.)

Along with the place you’re born into and your ability to move from it, some people have the ability to extend the distance of their radius, thus expanding their possibilities. As time goes one, these folks learn that their radius is not a set length and they can make it grow. These people have the greatest opportunities to succeed regardless of their luck because they do not let themselves be artificially limited by where they start from.

A recent book explains how easy it is to confuse the randomness of luck with the virtues of intelligence, hard work, and motivation. However, despite my basically agreeing with many of these points, I firmly believe that we have the ability to make our own luck through these virtues. Also, I believe that raw talent is overrated and that those who are the best at what they do got there on a combination of luck and something else.

The first step to getting away from your fixed point? Stop complaining and start making it happen.