Today I came across a post about from a small business that attributed half of their success to hard work, and the other half to something outside of themselves. For some reason, this reminded me of the first year out of high school when I decided very last second that I wanted to major in something creative.
Instead of going directly to university, I went to a community college for a year. I took several drawing and painting, sculpting, and very basic foundational art classes. In that one year, I really did put everything into the work that I produced because I wanted a portfolio to get into a better art school.
For the first time in my memory, I broke down crying after class over a grade on a project that I felt did not reflect the several days of all nighters and quite literally the mental and physical pain that I endured. I truly in my heart of heart felt wronged because my hard work didn’t reflect the grade that I received.
And I know how silly and dramatic that sounds, but it taught me something that I was so engrained to believe growing up: that the concept of hard work would equal and guarantee success. And that was in fact, not true.
Wearing above – The Half Dome Ring
For every success story, there are thousands of other people who worked equally as hard and you’ll never hear about them.
Today I’m reflecting on what is that other 50% that we can attribute to our success. If half of our success is attributed to effort and hard work, what is the other 50% for you?