7 myths that could stop people from succeeding

Thursday May 05, 2016 , 3 min Read

Success in today’s world is more than just something you can quantify. Most often, we perceive that one’s ability to succeed depends on a number of factors unrelated to hard work and passion.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook, says,

If you just work on stuff that you like and you’re passionate about, you don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.

Here are some of the most common myths about achieving success:

Myth 1: Your personality type determines your success

Whether you are an introvert, extrovert or an ambivert, all you need is a vision, determination and some power to be successful.

I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.

– Steve Jobs, Co-founder and CEO of Apple.

Myth 2: Success happens overnight

Most often, success is the result of years of consistent hard work and heaps of passion to turn your dreams into reality. Actor Amitabh Bachchan did not become a star with just one film. It was his sheer consistency that has taken him to this level of success.

As Biz stone, Co-founder, Twitter says,

Timing, perseverance and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success.

Myth 3: Limiting and focusing on a single goal makes you reach the zenith of success

Focussing on a single goal will hamper and narrow down your vision. Look out for more opportunities around you.

I get the sad impression that business often becomes numerical: about millions and targets or it ends up being so goal driven that there is a stark loss of inspiration from it.

– Shah Rukh Khan, actor.

Myth 4: Successful people don’t make mistakes

As cliché as it sounds, failure is the stepping stone to success. Successful people need to learn from their mistakes

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 360 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that’s why I succeed

– Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer.

Myth 5: The bigger, the better

Starting out small is the best way to begin. You can do big things with a small team. That’s how all the successful start ups started off, right? A one-room office and a 10-member team, perhaps. Freshdesk and Flipkart started their journey this way!

Myth 6: They’re privileged

CEOs don’t just drop out of the sky onto office chairs. Most of them start with innate focus and work extremely hard to get everything they achieve. Very often, people believe that all it takes to succeed is getting the right opportunity. They spend their lives waiting for that perfect opportunity to present itself.

Myth 7: Success leads to happiness

Happiness and success are two different things. If you link happiness to success, you make your happiness conditional and you could end up with very little happiness in your life, regardless of how successful you are.

Also, most of us believe that the key ingredient to success is innate ability. We stick to doing the things that come easily to us, as we think that will provide success.