Statistically, very few people manage to break the glass ceiling and push boundaries. The question is — why exactly?
Does being successful depend on a decision, or on good starting conditions, a supportive environment and financial wealth? When was the last time you saw someone inspiring, got an energy boost, wrote a work plan for a new year — and it stayed in the drawer?
What makes a person successful, and what is it about their approach that others lack? Why are they statistically so few?
- Solitude. Right from the start of the journey, a successful person is considered a lone wolf, and people won’t always understand his choices, his decisions or his conduct. Because wherever everyone else is, whatever everyone else does — the so-called herd effect — he won’t be there. He listens mainly to himself. He gets up early when everyone is asleep, gives up life’s pleasures from a very young age, and usually does what others aren’t willing to do — for the simple reason that their minds struggle to leave the comfort zone.
- He has a very clear vision of victory. Unlike “drifting” people who live in the present, a successful person has a strategy, a daily agenda, goals — and he’s prepared to fail. In fact, failure is entirely part of the way of life and it doesn’t shake him or throw him off balance. From every failure he extracts the lesson and, above all, takes responsibility. Despair is not an option on the table. In professional terms this is called mental resilience.
- He’s willing to pay the price. We know quite a few television actors who say — “I’ll prepare for the audition, but first let me get through stage one, let’s see if they even want me”… Of course, this approach doesn’t really get them very far, and they end up frustrated again, tending to blame themselves or to think it’s a matter of luck or coincidence. The truth is much simpler than that — if you’re good, you’ll be seen. No one can really ignore it. Approaching a talent agency with motivation alone isn’t enough. We all want it; the question is what we’re willing to do about it.
- Background noise. Who among us doesn’t know how others always have something to say, to judge and to criticize — but a successful, stable person with character won’t give it any room. Before COVID, in the crowded audition room, actors tended to chatter with one another — which became a trap for concentration and confidence. It’s enough to watch Yehuda Levi’s scene in the TV series “A Very Important Person” to see how everything turns on him all at once.
- Someone to run with. You must have a coach, a mentor or a talent agent who truly, truly believes in you — even when it’s hard, even when it’s uncomfortable, and even when you can’t see when it’s going to happen. A supportive environment is critical to the journey, along with the ability to cut toxic, unsupportive people out of your life.
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