Success Pyramid Explained
Right Place at the Right Time
In Martin Gladwell's book Outliers, he takes a look at a phenomenon in Canadian junior hockey. The best players, it is noted, are born in the first three months of the year. Investigators discover that this is likely because the cutoff date to play in the age-based junior leagues is January 1. This means that children born shortly after that date are usually the biggest on their teams and have more experience playing than those born later in the year. They are the most likely, then, to be chosen for the more elite leagues and gain even more experience playing.
Gladwell then applies this finding to look at successful people like Bill Gates and The Beatles. He finds that in each case, these successful people have opportunities early on to gain an enormous amount of experience. Bill Gates has access to a computer terminal while in middle school at a time when only large schools and corporations have computers. The Beatles are hired to play nearly non-stop in Hamburg nightclubs before they start seeing success as a recording act.
In addition to receiving an opportunity to gain experience, a successful person also benefits from his cultural legacy. Gladwell contrasts the legacies of Asian cultures that center on the year-round intensive farming of rice with Western cultures that center on farming less intensive crops. Asian cultures prize hard work more, he claims, and this legacy is partly demonstrated in the longer school years they have for their children. He describes a New York City school that transplants this Asian model of schooling into an economically poor neighborhood and sees good results.
Gladwell then applies this finding to look at successful people like Bill Gates and The Beatles. He finds that in each case, these successful people have opportunities early on to gain an enormous amount of experience. Bill Gates has access to a computer terminal while in middle school at a time when only large schools and corporations have computers. The Beatles are hired to play nearly non-stop in Hamburg nightclubs before they start seeing success as a recording act.
In addition to receiving an opportunity to gain experience, a successful person also benefits from his cultural legacy. Gladwell contrasts the legacies of Asian cultures that center on the year-round intensive farming of rice with Western cultures that center on farming less intensive crops. Asian cultures prize hard work more, he claims, and this legacy is partly demonstrated in the longer school years they have for their children. He describes a New York City school that transplants this Asian model of schooling into an economically poor neighborhood and sees good results.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
In the early 1920s, psychologist Lewis Terman began to investigate the emotional and social development skills of children with a genius-level IQ. Basing his study in California, Terman selected 1,500 children between the ages of eight and 12 who together had an average IQ of 150. Of these, 80 had scored over 170. The average income of Terman's subjects in 1955 was an impressive $33,000 compared to a national average of $5,000. Two-thirds had earned college degrees, while a large number had gone on to attain post-graduate and professional degrees. Many of these had become doctors, lawyers, business executives, and scientists.
Researcher Melita Oden, who carried on Terman's research after his death, decided to compare the 100 most successful subjects (Group A) to the 100 least successful (Group C). While they essentially had the same IQ levels, those in Group C only earned slightly above the average income of the time and had far higher rates of alcoholism and divorce than individuals in Group A.
According to Oden, the disparity was explained, in large part, by the psychological characteristics of the groups. Those in Group A tended to exhibit "prudence and forethought, willpower, perseverance, and the desire to excel." Furthermore, as adults, they exhibited three key traits not seen in most Group C subjects: goal-orientation, self-confidence, and perseverance.
*What this means is that although IQ may not play a direct factor in monetary success, it clearly plays a role in decision making, life style choices, and other skills that enable one to achieve life success.
Researcher Melita Oden, who carried on Terman's research after his death, decided to compare the 100 most successful subjects (Group A) to the 100 least successful (Group C). While they essentially had the same IQ levels, those in Group C only earned slightly above the average income of the time and had far higher rates of alcoholism and divorce than individuals in Group A.
According to Oden, the disparity was explained, in large part, by the psychological characteristics of the groups. Those in Group A tended to exhibit "prudence and forethought, willpower, perseverance, and the desire to excel." Furthermore, as adults, they exhibited three key traits not seen in most Group C subjects: goal-orientation, self-confidence, and perseverance.
*What this means is that although IQ may not play a direct factor in monetary success, it clearly plays a role in decision making, life style choices, and other skills that enable one to achieve life success.
Working Smarter
Although having a strong work ethic and being consistent daily are incredibly important, they can be overbearing without balance. Overworking is a real thing. Putting in 100 hour plus weeks may be a viable and necessary solution for a few years, but eventually one will need to figure out how to maximize work hours. It will take years of working before figuring out how to properly maximize time. But once one does, the time spent working will become as effective. Once one learns how to best maximize their time while working, they can begin to adjust their schedules accordingly. To prove this, successful figures including Charles Dickens, Gabriel García Márquez, and Charles Darwin had “schedules where they worked for five hours a day or less."
To further this point, a study done on 5,000 of the top performing managers and employees set out to find out what made them stand out. The research was astounding. What set them apart was their ability to engage in smart work by, “carefully selec[ting] which priorities, tasks, collaborations, team meetings, committees, analyses, customers, new ideas, steps in a process, and interactions to undertake, and which to neglect or reject.” In other words, those who were selective and focused their work on activities that provided the most value was the factor that set them apart. If one is working smart, intensely targeting their efforts in the right direction, doing less can be beneficial.
Working smarter is also better for the brain, which allows one to become overworked and continue on a path to success. Burnout is a real issue that many face. According to Ph.D and author Christine Carter, overworking can cause one to inhibit their path to success by causing impairment in “our ability to think creatively, plan, organize, innovate, solve problems, make decisions, resist temptations, learn new things easily, speak fluently, remember important social information (like the name of our boss's daughter, or our daughter's boss), and control our emotions.” Therefore, because overloading our brain can lead to these issues, working smart is crucial to avoid becoming overworked. Working smarter allows one to continue on their journey to successes without any issues or interruptions.
To further this point, a study done on 5,000 of the top performing managers and employees set out to find out what made them stand out. The research was astounding. What set them apart was their ability to engage in smart work by, “carefully selec[ting] which priorities, tasks, collaborations, team meetings, committees, analyses, customers, new ideas, steps in a process, and interactions to undertake, and which to neglect or reject.” In other words, those who were selective and focused their work on activities that provided the most value was the factor that set them apart. If one is working smart, intensely targeting their efforts in the right direction, doing less can be beneficial.
Working smarter is also better for the brain, which allows one to become overworked and continue on a path to success. Burnout is a real issue that many face. According to Ph.D and author Christine Carter, overworking can cause one to inhibit their path to success by causing impairment in “our ability to think creatively, plan, organize, innovate, solve problems, make decisions, resist temptations, learn new things easily, speak fluently, remember important social information (like the name of our boss's daughter, or our daughter's boss), and control our emotions.” Therefore, because overloading our brain can lead to these issues, working smart is crucial to avoid becoming overworked. Working smarter allows one to continue on their journey to successes without any issues or interruptions.
Work Ethic
One of the most important parts of a strong work ethic is the ability to put in time practicing. Practicing allows one to get experience that can set them above the rest. In a study done in the United Kingdom involving 257 of the top performing musicians, it was found that they all had two things in common. None of the top performers “show[ed] signs of great achievements before picking up serious practice with their instrument or improv[ed] faster when practicing, than their peers.” What this means is that none of the top musicians had any natural born talent for greatness. In other words, their talent was the result of practice, and they required just as much practice as anyone else would.
As research continues and humanity gets smarter, it becomes harder to become an expert in a field of study, whether it be science, business, music, etc. As each generation passes, the amount of time it takes to master a certain industry becomes greater. Even if you went through the same exact practice as someone from thirty years ago, it would take you longer to achieve success. To prove this, “Nobel prize winners, for example, are now 6 years older on average, when they make their scientific breakthrough, as they were 100 years ago.” This is why if you want to be successful, consistently putting in the time and working hard is absolutely vital.
Furthermore, a study at North Dakota State University examined and questioned the most academically successful students to figure out what set them apart from the rest. After taking into account a variety of factors, it was determined that 90% of students agreed that their academic success was due to “good study habits and hard work.” This is interesting because it points to the idea of success due to one’s work ethic.
As research continues and humanity gets smarter, it becomes harder to become an expert in a field of study, whether it be science, business, music, etc. As each generation passes, the amount of time it takes to master a certain industry becomes greater. Even if you went through the same exact practice as someone from thirty years ago, it would take you longer to achieve success. To prove this, “Nobel prize winners, for example, are now 6 years older on average, when they make their scientific breakthrough, as they were 100 years ago.” This is why if you want to be successful, consistently putting in the time and working hard is absolutely vital.
Furthermore, a study at North Dakota State University examined and questioned the most academically successful students to figure out what set them apart from the rest. After taking into account a variety of factors, it was determined that 90% of students agreed that their academic success was due to “good study habits and hard work.” This is interesting because it points to the idea of success due to one’s work ethic.
Consistency
In order to figure out how success is influenced by consistency, one can take a look at some of the most successful people in the world and how they got where they are. For example Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, emails employees at 4:30 every single morning; Professional tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams grew up hitting tennis balls every day at 6 in the morning since they were seven years old; NBA Hall of Fame legend spent his summers shooting hundreds upon hundreds of jump shots everyday. They stayed diligent everyday making sure they had the necessary practice and consistency to make them successful. These people are prime examples of how consistency can pay off in the long run.
To expand, Consistency sets you above the rest. Putting in a hundred hour weeks every week might be what it takes to achieve success. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said it best, "If other people are putting in 40-hour work weeks and you're putting in 100-hour work weeks, then, even if you're doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” Putting in the time consistently could be all it takes to set you apart from the rest.
New York Times Best Selling author Chris Hogan along with Dave Ramsey and their research team did a study on 10,000 American millionaires. What they found is that having responsibility, being intentional, setting goals, and working hard mean absolutely nothing if you don’t stay consistent. Consistency is what leads to results. Staying consistent over a long period of time is the most important attribute leading to success. One can do this by having “patience for a long-term view to help you stay focused through the years, and passion to find ways to get the job done.” With consistency on your side, one becomes an unstoppable force not to be reckoned with.
To expand, Consistency sets you above the rest. Putting in a hundred hour weeks every week might be what it takes to achieve success. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said it best, "If other people are putting in 40-hour work weeks and you're putting in 100-hour work weeks, then, even if you're doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” Putting in the time consistently could be all it takes to set you apart from the rest.
New York Times Best Selling author Chris Hogan along with Dave Ramsey and their research team did a study on 10,000 American millionaires. What they found is that having responsibility, being intentional, setting goals, and working hard mean absolutely nothing if you don’t stay consistent. Consistency is what leads to results. Staying consistent over a long period of time is the most important attribute leading to success. One can do this by having “patience for a long-term view to help you stay focused through the years, and passion to find ways to get the job done.” With consistency on your side, one becomes an unstoppable force not to be reckoned with.