Right Time, Right Place Route to Success

I was recently reading an article on Seth Godin. In the midst of an age of self-help experts and how to books, Seth avoids trying to provide instant gratification with a “how-to” book on success. Rather he addresses “what it’s really about”. His secret is simple: there is no shortcut to success. It is riddled with failure, fear and struggle. The bottom line is when you think something might work, you try it. And if it doesn’t work, you persevere and try again (and again).

There are many people who live by chance. They sit and wait idly until a door opens up, so they can saunter through. But how many doors fly open without any effort from someone, somewhere? I am not one to deny that things happen unexpectedly, but do not confuse this with random chance or “luck”.

If you look at any “successful” person, not one of them can claim that it was simple “luck” that got them where they are. Sure there is the phrase “right time, right place”. But the key is that they were in that right place, at that right time. Chances are they put themselves in that same place many times before, and one of those times was finally the right one.

The message here is that they put themselves out there. Do you think the band that launched a hit career when some high level music executive “happened” to hear them at a hole in the wall dive had never played a gig before? I’m willing to bet they played thousands of gigs in thousands of dives before that one moment. And the famous actress first discovered in a community theatre? She would have hundreds of auditions to her name.

Nothing happens if you do nothing. Plain and simple. But if you at least try to do something, something will happen. Guaranteed!