The first step to winning the game of success is understanding the game you are playing.
Micheal Jordan, the greatest basketball player, retired from the NBA to play baseball in 1992.
But the retirement was short-lived. He came back to the NBA in 1995.
Needless to say, he was a failure at baseball and didn’t win any trophy.
In fact, he played for two seasons in Minor League Baseball, and only once in Major League Baseball, the equivalent of the NBA.
There are three life lessons to learn from Michael Jordan’s baseball career.
First, every game has its requirements.
Basketball requires a strong body with strong legs and flexible arms. Baseball requires strong arms and a strong chest.
Jordan was well suited for basketball, trained for several years and was successful at it for 10 years.
When he switched to baseball, he didn’t have the requirements, and there was no humanly possible way he could train for it at that stage of his life.
Knowing what you need to succeed is half the battle of success.
Success in one game doesn’t equal success in every game.
People think that successful people have it all working out.
Career/ business success, check.
Family success, check.
Success with co-workers and friends, check.
Healthy body, check.
Mental health, check.
And so on.
However, that is not so. Several successful entrepreneurs are terrible fathers, and there are several successful people who are terrible at other things. With their family, their co-workers and even their friends.
You need to pay the price for success in each area of your life. And becoming successful in one area only guarantees that you understand that success requires work.
However, paying the price in one area often leaves you lacking to pay the price in other areas.
So all round successful people learn the art of balance. Keeping everything in balance ensures they can pay the price in every area of their life.
The first step to winning is to understand the game you are playing.
Success is not universal. Even drilling down further, financial success is not universal.
Using finances as an example. Someone will prefer the safety of a job and save up to earn enough money to retire early in 30–45 years. Another person may decide to become an entrepreneur and fast-track the process by ten years. At the same time, a third person may be okay with the long, mind-numbing work of investment banking and go five years at it to earn a million dollars before deciding to leave to do something else.
Nothing wrong with each of the three paths. But you need to realise the game you want to play and understand the rules that govern the game. And then pay the price.
Conclusion
Everyone wants to be successful, but success means different things to several people. Stephen Covey writes in ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’
‘Many people climb the ladder of success to discover that is leaning against the wrong wall.’
Always find out the game you want to play before investing your time and energy in playing it.
