Seven of the Biggest Myths Surrounding Success

Success: The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted. The ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Success is one of those words that’s always fascinated me because it’s different for each of us. Your definition of success might be to have more money than you’ll ever need. For others, it might be a beautiful house, a vintage car, a big family, CEO of a company, being able to travel, or owning your own company. 

The truth is, success oftentimes seems like we’re playing a game of whack-a-mole. Just when it seems you’re about to reach a goal, something happens to knock you off track. For many, success comes from devastating defeats that may seem like the end rather than the beginning. Just ask Hari Budha Magar who was born in Nepal and joined the British Army when he was 19. While serving in Afghanistan, he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and lost both of his legs above the knee. He spent two years drowning his sorrows in alcohol and contemplating suicide while learning how to use a wheelchair and then walk on prosthetic legs. All while grieving what he had lost and seeing no future. 

He rediscovered his love of mountain climbing though and set his mind on climbing the world’s highest peak, Mt. Everest. He trained relentlessly for four years all while fighting the Nepalese government who had banned people with disabilities from climbing Everest. He was successful in getting the ban overturned and reached the top of the world in 2018, the first double amputee to accomplish that feat. Since then, he’s climbed the six other tallest peaks in the world, the 7-Summit Challenge, and works tirelessly to raise money and bring awareness to veterans and those with disabilities. 

Success and failure are often seen as polar opposites, yet for most of us who’ve achieved success, it came as the result of failures we didn’t let stop us. There are many myths surrounding success and below are seven that can have a profound effect on whether you’re blessed with success or stuck in a never ending loop. 

Myth 1 - Success can happen overnight:  The road to success is rarely straight and is filled with potholes, failures, unexpected curves, bumps and sometimes bruises…mentally, if not physically! As for being an overnight success, that’s about as rare as a $3 bill. Most of the “overnight” successes you hear about worked 10, 15, maybe 20 years before their work eventually brought them into the limelight. Success takes work, but that doesn’t mean 24/7/365 work. It means having a goal and taking the steps necessary to reach it, each and every day. While being an overnight success makes for a great story, the reality is success is a process that takes time. As actor and musician Scatman Crothers said, “You know, it's nice being an overnight success after 50 years!”

Myth 2 - Share your goals with everyone: No, no, no, and hell NO! It’s odd how humans get jealous when someone they know is working towards success. In today’s comparison culture, you’re likely to be ridiculed for simply thinking you can be successful. Rather than work towards their own success, many of those who live online would rather tear you down and be negative. Sadly, even friends and family can be detractors only because they don’t understand your goals or they are risk adverse, so be very careful who you share your goals and successes with and let your results speak for you instead. 

Myth 3 - Success is all about luck: We often hear people say luck was a big part of their success, but is that really true? Sure luck can play a part in your accomplishments; however, it’s rarely a case of luck being the only factor. It’s more likely this old proverb is the key to getting lucky: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”  Think about athletes who train for hours on end, day in and day out, and learn all they can about their sport so when an opportunity presents itself, they’re ready. Creating luck for yourself means always learning, taking on new challenges, and knowing what you want so when an opportunity appears, you’re ready to jump in with both feet. 

Myth 4 - Success means never giving up: In Kenny Roger’s famous song, The Gambler, he laments, “You've got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.”   A big myth of success is you must never, ever give up because then you’ll be perceived as a failure. But making a pivot or readjusting a goal opens you up to new possibilities. In the 1930’s a product was created to clean the black residue that coal heaters left on wallpaper. Over the next few decades the world shifted to natural gas and oil for heating and sales of the product plummeted. In a desperate bid to save the company, the product was repurposed in 1956 to a child’s toy and renamed Play-Doh. And the rest is history. The lesson: you must always be ready to make a change or adjust a goal if what you’re doing isn’t working. That’s not giving up, that’s being smart.

Myth 5 - You need an idea never thought of before to succeed: People often think success or innovation requires a brand-new idea. In my experience, it’s more about finding a problem and solving it. Top innovators borrow, adapt and reapply proven ideas from one area to another in ways that create fresh impact. It’s said many successful ideas changed a current product or service by just 10%. Progress isn’t always about something new, but the courage and curiosity to reimagine what works and then bringing it to life.

Myth 6 - Success equals money…lots of it: One of the most common myths is that only money is the true measure of success. Despite what others may say or believe, money shouldn’t be the yardstick for whether or not you’ve succeeded. Money can’t buy happiness, a loving family, or good health. In a recent study by Empower, less than half of those surveyed (43%) define financial success as having a certain amount of money or assets. More and more people are defining success as the ability to travel, to take time off when you want, be able to spend time with family, and other things that are harder to measure than a bank account. Money isn’t evil, but chasing money as the sole marker of success leaves most people disappointed. 

Myth 7 - Once you’re successful, your problems disappear: As humans, no matter how successful you are or how much money you have, there will always be challenges in life. Success in and of itself does not make problems disappear, but may create new ones you must tackle. Millennials and Gen Z are redefining success to mean living without debt, supporting a family, and being able to afford a lifestyle without stress. True success is about finding what’s important and meaningful to you and realizing problems are more manageable when you’re content with what you’ve achieved. 

Success is an ever evolving journey and it behooves us to enjoy the ride toward our goals because there is so much to be learned and so many incredible experiences to be had along the way. Find joy in the small things you do every day and be grateful for every advance you make towards your goals. The journey on the road to success starts with the first step and it won’t end until your last breath.