How to be Moderately Successful

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Now before you think this is some sort of joke (“Who would want to be moderately successful? I’m tryna be rich AF.”), let me point something out:

A lot of people achieve moderate success before they become wildlysuccessful.

I’m not saying moderate success is the end goal, but it could be a necessary stepping stone on the way to something more.

If you imagine your career as a road trip from NYC to LA — and LA is your ultimate goal — then this post will tell you how to get from NYC to Las Vegas.

In other words, I think you can get 80% of the way to your ultimate goal by just doing what I mention here.

There were 3 of us on the call…

Me, my copy chief, and my client — a serial entrepreneur who (I imagine) works with tons of people on a daily basis.

And he’s not always happy with them.

It’s common to hear him mention working with people who are holding him up and not doing what’s expected of them.

But then he said this:

“That’s what I like about you guys. You’re buttoned-up. You’re detail-oriented. You’re organized.

You don’t have to go to Harvard for this. You just have to do your f*cking job.”

*I feel like I should clarify — my client is a nice dude. It’s just that, as a business owner, he doesn’t have patience for people who don’t do their jobs. And I get that.

But did you catch the most important part of his rant?

“You don’t have to go to Harvard for this. You just have to do your f*cking job.”

The first step toward becoming moderately successful…

…isn’t being the smartest person in the room.

It’s not necessarily even being the hardest worker in the room.

But rather, it’s just about being A hard worker. Someone who does their job.

Someone who tries.

That’s it.

I know it’s ridiculous…

It’s kind of absurd that the key is literally

“Just try.”

If you were hoping for some complicated formula or unheard of secret, I’m sorry. But really, this is good news. There’s beauty in simplicity.

You don’t have to wish upon a star, sell your soul, or click your heels together three times to start the path to success.

You just have to make the decision to put in the effort every day. Do that consistently and you’ll be amazed at the progress you can make in a year.

Because here’s what you have to understand:

There are a lot of people out there who aren’t trying.

They’re leaving early. They’re cutting corners. They’re not putting in the effort.

I’m not saying you have to become a workaholic to become successful. All I’m saying is that, by just putting in a liiiiiittle more effort, you can get closer to where you want to be.

When all the other cars in the race are going 50 miles per hour, all you have to do to win is go 51 miles per hour.

So, instead of worrying about whether or not you have the skills or intelligence or whatever else to achieve your goals…

Just start trying. Put your head down. Put in some effort. And see what happens.

Effort alone may not get you all the way there, but it will get your further than you think.