The Inevitability of Success
Can’t see the video? Click here.
The past month or so I’ve become a lot more relaxed about money. That’s kinda strange, since I’m still eating through my savings, spending many times more than what I’m earning each week. But I’m pretty sure everything’s going to turn out okay for me as regards finances. I’m confident that, within the next couple of months, I’ll start earning more than enough to cover my expenses.
I’m confident because I believe success in pretty much any area is inevitable if you do just two things consistently:
- Work to improve your circumstances every single day
- Experiment
As an example, let’s take learning a new language, something I’m currently doing here in Spain. The process hasn’t exactly been easy for me, since the last time I did any kind of serious language study was eleven years ago while I was still in school, and I was certainly no genius with otros idiomas back then.
Putting in the work
Some days I feel like my Spanish is really coming along, and then other days I feel like a complete dumbass who doesn’t know his izquierda from his derecha. But on the whole, I know I’m moving steadily towards my goal of conversational fluency. I may not get there as quickly as I’d originally hoped, but I know success is inevitable as long as I keep doing those two things mentioned above.
I make sure to do at least some tiny bit of Spanish study or practice every day. Most days I actually do an hour or two, but more important are those days when I don’t feel like doing anything, yet still force myself to take at least one small step in the right direction. I might learn just one new word, or have one short conversation, or review one piece of grammar… it might be the tiniest improvement imaginable, but it counts as an improvement nonetheless, another day where I made my Spanish suck a little less.
As for experimentation…
Al Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. He had a mighty big brain, so I tend to agree. As such, I don’t believe consistent effort alone is enough to succeed in every endeavor. You often need to combine that with experimentation, otherwise you’re likely to end up spinning your wheels.
With Spanish, I’ve been experimenting with lots of different learning resources. I like to mix it up, try new things, see what helps me learn most effectively. I’m currently engaged in a pretty intense experiment, having chosen to communicate with Spanish people in nothing but Spanish for the month of July. That’s been going well so far (I think).
Let’s take flexibility as another example. Sadly, my body has never been very flexible. Touching my toes without bending my knees? I’ve never come close. Back in January I started doing yoga several times a week, but here I am six months later and I don’t seem to be any more flexible.
So, a few changes are in order. First, I’m going to experiment with something other than yoga to increase my flexibility, taking inspiration from Josh Lipovetsky’s morning routine. And second, I’m going to be more consistent with my practice, committing to doing it every single day. I figure I can’t help but improve if I stick to that. Success is inevitable. My toes won’t know what hit ‘em 
Back to the business side of things…
I’ve been consistently putting in 60 hour workweeks since I arrived in Spain, and for the past month or so I’ve been experimenting like crazy. Affiliate marketing, niche sites, video tutorials, virtual assistants, freelancing, marketplaces, Adsense… I’ve been trying all these things.
I immerse myself in one specific project each week, working hard on it and then pushing it out the door whether it’s 100% finished or not. Ready, fire, aim. I can always go back to polish and optimize a project should it start showing potential.
With this approach, I figure financial success is inevitable for me. I’m pushing my edge, building new skills and learning valuable lessons every single day, steadily improving my earning potential. I know that as long as I keep working hard, trying new things and throwing enough projects against the wall, eventually I’ll find a few that stick.
Is success inevitable for you?
Are you working to improve your circumstances every single day? There are so many ways you can do that, so many steps you can take. Some days you’ll take twenty, and those days are great, but don’t count on them all the time. Just make sure you’re taking one small step in the right direction each and every day; anything beyond that is a bonus.
How about experimentation? Are you shaking things up regularly, trying something new, expanding your comfort zone? Allow yourself to take some risks. Throw a few crazy projects out there, see if any of them have legs. If not, no worries, just move on to something else. The more darts you let fly, the better chance you have of eventually hitting the bullseye.
Here’s what I’m thinking: The only way to never succeed is to give up or to get stuck running in circles. Avoid those pitfalls, and success is inevitable.
…
P.S. If you want to see if all the above is for real or just wishful thinking on my part, be sure to check out my monthly finance reports, where I list out exactly how I’m earning and spending my money. The reports for the next couple of months should be quite telling
Keep practicing&Experiment. You just have to decide on which thing you want succeed…
I love your world Niall!
Thanks so much, Sara!
Fantastic post, Niall, really moving and inspiring – just as your whole “project”. I recalled a couple of phrases I came up with years ago. They are in Spanish (I am Spanish), so I hope they come right as today’s tiny improvement
“No hay mayor fracaso que el fracaso de no intentarlo”.
“El único fracaso real es aquel del que no aprendemos nada”.
Cheers and keep on pushing.
Oh man, I love those phrases, Angel! Just scribbled them in mi libreta and will be sure to learn them off. Muchas gracias!
Nial!
Me encanta leer tus articulos en mi descanso, me sacan de la rutina de la oficina y todo lo que haces, como lo haces, lo mucho que lo intentas sin desfallecer, me hacen sonreir!
Ademas de insistir y experimentar, hay una cosa que lleva al exito y tu eres un maestro en ello: creer en la vida y en uno mismo, saber que mientras sigas haciendo lo que realmente quieres, la vida se pondra de tu lado y llegaras siempre a donde quieres llegar, “el universo entero conspirara para que consigas tu sueño” (Coelho).
Yo tengo una pequeña pelea interna cada vez que salgo a correr (empece a hacer hace 2 meses): hay pequeños demonios en mi cabeza, monstruos perezosos, que me dicen que hoy no salga a correr porque estoy cansada, o porque llueve… He notado los beneficios de salir a correr, mi mente se despeja, mi cuerpo se aligera… pero los monstruitos siguen viniendo a mi cabeza… He intentado averiguar el porque de estos pequeños monstruos, pero mientras encuentre la respuesta seguire luchando contra ellos, insistire en salir a correr todos los dias
Un beso
Uzuri! Muchas gracias por escribiendo en español. Me ayuda practicar
Y me encanta que la cita de Paulo Coelho, y qué dices sobre correr. Ha leído el libro “The War of Art” de Steven Pressfield? Él escribe sobre esos demonios y monstruos dentro nos todos. Es muy bueno, uno de mis favoritos.
well see.
hey, for the record, i think my success is inevitable too. im pure genius!
¡Ah, qué bien Nial! Buscaré el libro, porque estoy pensando mucho en mis monstruos últimamente (los encuentro en varios sitios, no sólo cuando salgo a correr…). Y a lo mejor tengo que dejar de buscar una respuesta y hacerme amiga de los monstruos
Gracias
http://feelgoodeating.com/2011/07/without-a-doubt-and-crockpot-recipe.html
“When you get in your car to go somewhere, do you ever question your starting point?? You leave home or work but there is NO doubt about where your starting point is right? At the same time…are you ever in doubt or perhaps not convinced about where you are going?? Now here’s the kicker, you completely understand that you can not get there instantly! Your whole being accepts the fact that you will travel the road and in time you will get to your destination. Now while there maybe some blocked roads or accidents along the way, perhaps even a flat tire and you might get really tired from the long drive, you don’t at any point turn your car around and go back to your starting place right? You never really question your trip, you accept the fact that there is a travel distance from the place you started to where you want to go. This “thought” if you will, applies to everything you undertake in life.Where you are now and what or where you want to be in life…is just like this simple car ride.”
Love that analogy. Thanks for sharing!
I know what its like to stuck going around in circles, in college, I was doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results – Didn’t work for me at all. I was working the way I was told to do by lecturers, not realizing it didn’t suit me.
In fact, it took a brazen move of me to just screw that way and do a project in my own way that resulted in me doing very well in a project to the point it surprised me.
I guess the problem is that we’re expected to fit a circle into a square hole either by others or by ourselves. We need to realize that if we at least try and do things our own way more, then things will get better and you’ll be much more likely to be happier and succeed at the same time.
Thanks for the comment, Adrian, and good on ya for going your own way with that college project. I actually had a similar experience while I was at WIT. Amazing what can happen when we push those edges and keep working hard.
Cheers!
I love that video from Josh Lipovetsky. What an amazing story he has! Daily stretching has helped me reach my toes as well. I was a toe walker as a child and at one point doctors wanted to do surgery. No way! Daily stretching is the key. I was sporatic before but once I made it a daily practice it all came together. Don’t give up on yoga though. It can do more than help you reach your toes if you make it part of your daily practice too. I highly recommend attending at least one group class just to help you with body alignment. An instructor can help you adjust as you move so that you are doing all the poses correctly and get the most from your practice. Work wise I like the idea of just focusing on one thing a week. I’ve been trying to juggle 3 and 4 things at a time and not getting very far. I’m going to try this and see if it helps. I totally believe you’ll make this work Niall. Just reading through all the challenges you’ve overcome thus far tells me that success is in your future. Your drive and passion will get you there. You’re an inspiration
Thanks, Tracy! I’m pretty sure I’ll get there, too, as long as I stay committed to it
And I won’t be giving up on yoga for good. I do enjoy it, but it just wasn’t getting me the results I wanted in terms of flexibility. I went to a class back in April and learned a lot there.
Que bueno post Niall !! Eres un inspracion para mucha gente. Estoy aprendiendo y practicando mi espanol tambien. Con tiempo, nosotros hablar muy bien.
Keep up the great work man, you are helping and inspiring many people
Gracias, Matt! Quizas debemos hablar en Skype en Español algun tiempo
Claro amigo! Es un buen idea.. necisito practicar mas !
Man, I sure hope that your strategy works cuz I’m pretty sure it is the same one I’m implementing! Just so I know where the “finish line” is for you is relating to this convo, “success” is achieved when your income matches or exceeds your spending, right?
If that is the case, you can cut your spending down, train yourself to live with less, while you are building up your income. Kind of split the focus between making more money, and learning to live with less.
Love the videos man, and your espanol is coming along nicely!
Hey Mike.
Yeah, financial success for me would be to have my income exceeding my expenditure on a consistent monthly basis. That’s really the finish line. I think I’d need to do it for several consecutive months before I’d feel like I’d really achieved my goal.
And I agree about cutting down on expenses. I’m living pretty frugally as is, but I expect I’ll be able to spend even less next year when I’m living in places like India and Vietnam. Still, there’s only so much you can cut down on expenses, while there’s really no limit to how much you can earn, so most of my focus will be on earning for the next while.
Thanks for the comment!
Thats how I live my life Mike. I live on a boat and live very simply. In fact my motto is “Keep it Simple”. Im building up my little canvas bag company while working a couple of other part time jobs to make sure the bills are paid. I only work 27 hours for others and the rest is my time to work on my stuff. I have a very flex schedule too which makes me feel like Im retired sometimes.
Another way to put it would be to say that a) you have to set goals, b) you have to work towards them and be consistent at it and c) you have to try things, see what works or doesn’t work and then adjust your strategy accordingly. With business, at least, a bit more STRUCTURE is useful, almost NECESSARY, I would say. It helps to have a way of evaluating your strategies to better achieve your goals.
I’ve often just gone out and experimented and ended up getting SOMEWHERE. But sometimes it wasn’t the somewhere I was planning to go! Experimentation may be good for getting useful experiences out of life, but when it comes to achieving business goals, too much of it can backfire.
I’m with you on that, Dean. I don’t mean to give the impression that I’m all over the place as regards my experiments. A few months back I started tracking all the hours I spend on my projects so I’ll better be able to determine if I’m getting a return on my investments. I don’t want to have to put in 60 hour workweeks all the time to make ends meet, so I’ll try to determine which tasks are most effective at generating income for me.
Hi Niall.
In my experience everything changed when I found a working niche and dedicated my time and effort to impove the project.
After experimenting with expanding the business model, I found myself stuck and unable to generate fresh ideas.
The spirit disappeared somewhere after getting real business experience and focusing on a single idea.
These days I am diversifying my sources of income and don’t see substantial progress in it.
To create a business it took me several years of generating ideas, valuing them and throwing different business units out there. But during these years I was feeling that every time I am getting somehow better in it.
Now I have lost that feeling of improvement, trying different approaches of business creation and self-expression.
Hmm. It sounds like you’re saying neither approach has worked for you, Pavel. Focusing on one idea left you stuck, while diversification has yet to lead you anywhere promising. Hope I’m missing something there.
You know, I succeeded in the initial idea. That is not comlete failure. It is the thing that brings me living these 2+ years.
But these passive income is not enough not to work at all and while expanding this business I try to difersify, in which activity I didn’t succeed.
Ah, got it. Thanks for clarifying!
Weird and spooky that you just retweeted this. Compare this to your most recent financial report and you’re bang on it tio!
Good one Niall! I think I needed to hear that. I keep plugging away with my bags and Im doing pretty well. I came out with a small Mobile Phone Tote that is selling very well for me. Im trying to get myself motivated to get my web presence more out there and really start selling more off the web and stop working for other and just be working for myself from wherever I choose to live.
After reading your blog Im going to get busy and start taking some baby steps everyday
Thanks, Robin! Wishing you all the best with the bag business.