Richard St. John’s TED talk below really resonated with me. I don’t know about you, but there have been many times in my life when I have achieved a modicum of success only to lose focus and have to begin climbing the ladder again. At times I have let things slip to such a degree that I have to relearn habits and re-hardwire my brain, which requires considerable drive and effort. Doesn’t it make more sense and require less work and stress to keep the success going rather than to try to recreate it?

The theme of St. John’s short talk seems to be to hang in there and keep doing what’s gotten you to your sweet spot in the first place. Notice his principles to success which kind-of fly by in the video but are worth a deep look:

  1. Passion
  2. Work
  3. Focus
  4. Push
  5. Ideas
  6. Improve
  7. Serve
  8. Persist

I’m not sure St. John intends for these steps to be taken in order but taken together they offer a reasonable formula to success. St. John points out that the “ladder” metaphor may not be the appropriate metaphor for lasting success; rather he suggests looking at the steps as part of a persistent cycle with no end and continual success. I like it. Watch the video a couple of times. I hope you benefit from it.

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