The Secret of Success

Someone (I think it was Elbert Hubbard) once said: The secret of success is that there is no secret of success. 

I kinda agree. There are multiple factors involved in achieving a certain degree of success. The first one is being able to define success. That is where problems usually start.

But if you had to point out the most important success factor to be happy in life and succeed at anything you wanted, what would it be?

Here's my take: Surround yourself with great people. 

Corollary: Flush out all the negative people, the energy vampires, the one-person recessions, the amoral, the boring, the average and well, 99% of humanity. Stick with the 1% that matters.

It is impossible to fail in life if you're only surrounded by bright, talented, kind, curious, generous and happy people.

On the other hand, you only need one negative person to ruin your life.

In a previous post (It Doesn't Really Matter How Big Your Network Is), I talked about a network's depth vs its spread and stated that:

True wealth is the number of doors in the World where you can go knocking uninvited and crash on a sofa for the night.

But to attract great friends, you must yourself work hard to be the best friend you can be. This is the hardest part.

 ***

I just got back from a snowboarding trip in Fernie (BC) with awesome friends. Exceptional people endowed with a great attitude, hyperactive intellects, unbridled curiosity, a wonderful sense of humor and outstanding ethics. What could have been an average ski trip became an experience that I'll be happy to remember 10 years from now.

They provided the inspiration for this post. 


It's always the same thing. It doesn't matter where you're going. What matters is who's coming along for the ride.