Get Ahead and Succeed in Life
In my economics of poverty, discrimination, and immigration class we began to cover the reasons why some people get head and succeed in life while others don’t. There are many reasons why people succeed not just in life, but in any endeavor they go through with. I believe that this topic relates to blogging and thought it would be a good idea to show the statistics that were gathered in a Gallup Pool (Social Audit) in 1999.
The Statistics Revealed
In the 1999 Gallup Pool there was a sample size, n, taken of 5,001 people in the population. The 5,001 people were to rate reasons on a 1 to 5 (1 being not at all important and 5 being very important) scale of why they thought some people succeed and others do not. There were 3 categories that the sample rated a 4 or 5. “Hard work and initiative” and “getting the right education or training” were both at the top with 92% of people rating it most important. The third item was the “willingness to take risks” with 69% of the sample size rating it a 4 or 5.
Hard Work and Initiative
As bloggers, business owners, and human beings hard work and initiative are needed for success. We as a society (of bloggers) need hard workers and others who are willing to take initiative and help the community prosper. As an individual [blogger] hard work is something that cannot be left out of the picture. If I were to leave hard work out of the picture I definitely wouldn’t have the loyal readers coming to my blog everyday. Hard work is something to appreciate and something that others should appreciate as well. We, as bloggers, work hard to be “the next big thing” in the blogsphere and in the real world.
Getting The Right Education or Training
Well, I don’t really know where to go with this one. As bloggers we don’t really receive any special education or training on the subject. I, for one, haven’t had any classes that covered blogging as one of the main topics! Anyhow, carrying the right education and training for a specific job or task will help you succeed. As bloggers and students we are investing in our human capital. Something of which will benefit us in the long term. Every time I sit in class, I’m investing in human capital. The money I spend on tuition and books is also going towards my human capital. I know for a fact that the education, organizational skills, and experience I gain through college will help me succeed later in life.
Willingness to Take Risks
This has to be my favorite category of the three. Why? Because this is where an entrepreneur stands and I consider myself an entrepreneur. Without people who are willing to take risks we wouldn’t be living in the world that we live in today. We are all taking a risk by being bloggers and not knowing what the future holds for the blogsphere or the internet. Innovative minds are the things that better our society and economy as a whole. I’ve read about many business ventures and risks that other bloggers are taking, even friends that I’ve personally made. It’s a great thing to see and watch your friends take on a challenge, especially with something that they have a passion for. In order to succeed you must be willing to take risks, calculated and educated risks. Yes, you may lose some fights, but in the end you won’t have regrets. Take the risks now so that when you’re older the phrases “I should have,” “I could have,” and “That should have been me” won’t be thrown around. But remember, it’s never too late to risk all that you’ve got. Never.
“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. The world is yours, conquer it.”
Great writers make great bloggers.
One element I thought was missing from the study is A GOOD SUPPORT SYSTEM. Many of us who grow up in poverty don’t have the proper people in our lives to give us encouragement to move forward. Instead we have cynics that look to keep us in our current state rather than doing better and moving forward with our lives.
Great post.
You bring up a great point. I apologize for not mentioning anything about support systems and government programs. I kind of wanted to just to stick to what people thought were the reasons why others succeed.
I agree with your statement as there is still a lot of discrimination and lack of encouragement.
No reason to apologize. I brought it up only because it was interesting that it wasn’t mentioned out of the 5,001 people that participated.
I would be interested to know the economic class and demographic of the folks involved in the study.
Hey Gregg,
It’s very interesting that less people think that taking risks is important for creating success than the other reasons. I’ll bet there was a higher number of successful people in that category.
Agreed! Personally, I would have put hard work and initiative and willingness to take risks at the top. Opportunity is also a huge factor, but the way I view it is that if someone wants something badly enough they’ll make it work and they’ll make it happen.
A GREAT example is the movie Will Smith played in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006).
I agree with you: mix desire with hard work and risk taking and people will make what they want happen (I know you’re with me on the LoA). Many people have “created something out of nothing” - seen an opportunity where no one else did.
I agree with Urban Thought that having a support system will make achieving success much easier. Someone may have the desire but they may not have the belief in themselves to take the risks.