We hear often that the path to success is different for everyone. We spend countless hours reading, hearing, and watching successful people’s stories and try to learn something from them. It can be beneficial but also cause anxiety. With so many different paths and stories, how will we find success for ourselves?
The Meaning Of Success
Success comes in many forms. We probably identify with financial success, but everyone looks at it in different ways. Athletes might have found financial success, but yearn for a championship. Maybe it's designing a new product that is revered by the world.
I understand that you can write books about what success is and that it will mean something different to everyone. There are some people where a million dollars would change their lives, but others won’t feel secure without 100 million dollars ( trust me they’re out there).
Regardless of what your definition is, Success comes from doing something that is greater than yourself ( whether that's your intention or not). Making ludicrous amounts of money takes a village providing a product/service that many people find useful. We can find evidence in how people are introduced. The person who created Facebook, the person who invented designed the Nike Logo, or the person who invented the lightbulb. We see them for what they created and for the most part that is their success and legacy.
How will you find success?
In a sea of different stories we look to ourselves and see how we can relate to successful people. We might relate to them in terms of a college degree, life story, or even nationality. We find comfort in reliability, but rarely will that help us find success.
After reviewing hundreds of stories of success, in a number of eras ( yes I am a nerd), I found it comes down to two qualities. Either you are a Creator or a Communicator. Either you have a skill that allows you to create something that people admire, or you have a vision and the ability to bring people together.
The Creator
The Creator is someone who has the ability to do something or create something That will change the world. They come in all forms: inventors, creatives, and overall innovators. They have the ability to create what is in their mind.
Most Innovative tech companies start this way. With people who can at least start the process of building their ideas. Mark Zuckerberg and his pals at Harvard knew how to code. They knew how to build a website, maintain servers. Whether it will make money or garner attention was beside the point.
Obviously, in most creative pursuits, Successful individuals are creators. They have ideas or can take the ideas of others, and create something tangible from them. Designers, artists, and countless other modalities rely on their skills to create for the world. They understand their craft to the point that they can take ideas and make them a reality.
Creators cause us the most anxiety. Well, I don’t know how to code, how can I build my innovative app when I don’t even know how to update the latest version on Chrome? Enter the Communicator.
The Communicator
So we don’t know how to build things. We don’t know have the strong practical knowledge to create something ourselves, but we have great Ideas. How can we make our visions a reality? You need to be able to communicate your vision and bring people who believe in it and work together to see it grow.
I saw this in many instances. Most CEOs of companies don’t really have practical knowledge in the field in which they found success. Elon Musk didn’t know how to build a car, and Steve Jobs couldn’t write a single line of code, but they found success. Their ability to communicate the vision and bring people together to work for the same goal brought experts together to create something incredible.
We also have creative professions that rely on other people. Although I said earlier most creatives are creators, In real life, though creations don't become a reality without the ability to communicate with others.
The Best examples are Film Directors and Architects ( or any Designer) They have the idea, but cannot do it alone. To see their vision become a reality they need to communicate their vision and make sure it executed properly. In Order for a Director or Writer to get their movie made, they need to sell the vision to the Studios. They need to communicate to the actors and other stakeholders, how they want the movie made.
Architects would be another example. So many Architects have created incredible designs that never get built. The Architects who become successful, are the ones who can communicate their vision to the Developers to have it financed. Work with engineers to have it built in an efficient manner, and keep that strong communication throughout the project. There are no Architects that can take a project without the help of others.
Unicorn-Level Success
Now we spoke about success, and I kind of eluded to the fact that we look at legends as our reference for success. Billionaires, Superstar Architects, legendary Scientists all created something that was greater than themselves. What is interesting about these successes was that in order to make that extraordinary idea a reality, it takes an army, it takes multiple creators and communicators that come together that create something amazing.
Although Mark Zuckerberg’s started as a creator, he quickly had to build a team and later an army of people to make his vision come to life. He had to become a communicator. He had to communicate his vision to help build the extensive arsenal of products, services, and features that the company now offers. Elon Musk brushed up on his Rocket science, not only help design and create a better rocket but to be able to be a better communicator.
Even Albert Einstein who we see as the face of his discoveries had an army of people that could help overcome obstacles and refine his ideas. When you read his story many figures like Kurt Godel Come up, as people who really helped Albert Einstein further his ideas. He was at Princeton, where most of his colleagues went on to become legends in their own rights. It why you see scientific and Artistic movements happening at a specific time and place.
We all start somewhere
Although To become the legend and be remembered for eternity, we all have to start somewhere. Some might find a natural disposition to communicate, and others are talented creators. We have to find our baseline and as time goes on we build our skills to become more multi-faceted. You can be an excellent creator, but the time will come where you need to communicate your creations to find success. The same goes for communicators, ideas are great, and talking about them is ok, but understanding the process of creation will be important to turn those ideas into a reality.
I struggled with the frustration of not being able to create. I had ideas that I couldn’t make a reality. I felt useless. creators fascinate me. Having an idea for a movie or app, and starting to working on building it. It's immediate and I like that. I was always a good communicator, but when you are 18 and wanting to become a king of the world by 23, I lacked to see the value in what I had. As I progressed in my career I found that communication was my greatest skill, and as I learned to be a creator it made me a more effective communicator.
We are all on our respective journies. Like most things, there is no black or white solution, and it's usually a mix of many factors, luck, timing, skill, and much more. I write this piece to give myself and anybody reading a perspective. we all start somewhere, and instead of trying to be everything try to be the best at something small, and with time you will build other skills. I wish whoever is reading this success in their journey, whatever that means to you. Start small. Grow. And never stop learning.