What leads to Success?

This morning Peter showed me a TED cast that was pretty interesting. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

Watch the video here.

Richard St. John interviewed successful people in the past couple years to find out WHAT LEADS TO SUCCESS...maybe Luck? maybe smarts? He actually concluded that the following 8 words can sum up what leads a person to achieve success. These are in no particular order*

1. Passion: Do it for LOVE not MONEY
2. Work: Have fun while you work
3. Focus: Focus on ONE thing (this one is hard for me)
4. Persist: Persist through failure and C.R.A.P., which is an acronym for Criticism, Rejection, Assholes, Pressure.
5. Ideas: Be observant, curious, and open to making connections.
6. Good: Get really good at what you are doing> Practice makes perfect.
7. Push: Push yourself physically and mentally...and he joked that when you can't push yourself, that's what your mom's for.
8. Serve: Find a way to serve other SOMETHING OF VALUE.

I really enjoyed his presentation and am glad that I could not agree more with Richard and his findings...hopefully this means that at least I have the right idea...

In High School, one of my teacher's a a poster in his classroom that has really stuck with me. The had a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson and read:

"To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded."

I aspire to live a successful life according to these parameters.