Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, from Star Trek, when faced with an apparent impossible task, would exclaim, “Dammit Jim, Im a doctor not a miracle worker!”

Success often breeds difficulties that young entreprenuers never foresee.

At Current Wisdom, our success was greatly accelerated. With yearly growth in the hundreds of percent, we found that success created logistical realities that we were ill equipped to deal with.

Hire a CPA? Whats that? I have QuickBooks, isnt that enough?

A Lawyer? For what? We wrote our own contracts?

HR? Are you kidding? We can hire and fire how ever we want.

Early success creates heightened expectations.

When you begin, as a company or a person, to really make hay, you begin to create a promise to your boss, your board, your colleagues, that you arent a one hit wonder.

So how do you avoid it?

You cant. Early success is always an indication that you have the ability to create long term success.

Read that again. If you can do it once, you can do it twice.

Its just harder the second time around.

So, here are my three rules for sustained success:

1) Realize that success doesnt fall out of the sky because you have a cool app or you are the best marketer ever. Success exists because multiple people do stuff in concert. You cant brute force or use your force of will to create success. You much create a foundation that success can build on.

2) For success to be replicated, it must be replicable. My first boss out of college gave me two pieces of advice that I continue to believe in: “Decide if you want to work to live, or live to work.” and “You are not promotable if you are irreplaceable.” Its important that YOU arent the sole reason for success, but its the mechanics of your business or your process.

3) Fail. Failure is important to remind you of the importance of success. So fail quickly. Then move just as quickly to erase that failure and replace it with success.

There is a corollary to these rules.

Dont be a miracle worker. Just be a doctor. Just be the best doctor you possibly can be. Its probably more than enough given you have either gotten a business off the ground, or hired to do a job.

Finally, success isnt hard. Its just hard work. Dont buy into the hype or the naysayers — you are probably not as good as some think, and better than others think.

Just keep on keeping on.

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

Last week, I wrote about personal change. The change I was attempting to enact was one of understanding the grey areas in things.

Interesting effort, not done by any stretch.

Damn, its hard.

I live in a world of absolutes. Its easier for me. I know that something, someone can be or not be. But to question that fundamental belief is like turning an ocean liner (that would be hard).

But, Im working on it.

There something interesting that I have learned in my attempts to see, understand and accept the grey areas of life. That true patience, the kind that one accepts, makes it so much easier.

Here is an example. Right now, there is a situation in my life that I want to be one way. I know, absolutely, that it should be, and will be (one day), that way. I know this like I know that oxygen is important to life.

Fundamentally.

And, usually, in situations like this, I make it just the way I want it by sheer force of will. I just make it so. I see the problems and fix them. I understand the difficulties and remove them. I just make it so.

In this case, I cant. All I can do is be patient. Patient without expectation, but with hope.

Fundamentally.

So, what I have learned is that to accept the grey areas of life, one must be patient and restrained. And not in a way of just not doing something, or avoiding interaction, but by accepting that not everyone thinks as you do, and you must let them come to their own conclusions.

So to understand the grey, one much be patient and restrained, yet available and compassionate.

Damn, thats hard.

But, if and when it works, and the personal situation or business deal (yes, this fits with my giving without expectation concept), it will create the type of relationship that has no grey areas for either party.

Damn, thats good. Really good.

Today, I do something that I dont do regularly or often (ok, almost never). Today, I decide to make a change so that the overall Micah is better, which then makes it better for the people that I care about.

What kinda change am I talking about? It will be subtle, but difficult. It will be specific and methodical.

Today, I learn that there is a grey area.

You see, I live in absolutes. There is a right way, and a not right way. There is success and failure. There is yes and no.

Today, I accept the maybes in life.

It goes against my black and white life style. It rails against my 100% or 0% mentality.

But, I need/want to understand the concept of perhaps.

Most of the people in the world live in a grey area. They are unsure of how their actions will affect their lives and the lives of the people around them.

Most people have difficulty being self aware.

Ok, some people may have difficulty being self aware.

And there it is, my first attempt at change.

Maybe it will stick.