Recently, Hero Material and I were discussing what success was. What do you need to achieve it and how do you define it?

He said he heard a podcast with someone who basically said the following (paraphrased):

If you interview very successful business people about what you need to be successful, they say, “Some money (to fund your venture), good employees / people, experience, a good product, good service, hard work.”

If you interview a group of new college grads on the same topic, they too say, “Money to fund your business, good employees / people, experience, a good product / service, hard work.”

If you interview a group of high school kids, they too say, “Money, good workers, a good product, good service, hard work.” (They didn't put much emphasis on experience.)

After the survey, the podcaster decided that basically, everyone knows what it takes to be successful. You don't need a fancy MBA to figure it out. And yet, most people are not successful.

So he said success is “the uncommon application of common knowledge”. Interesting, no?

I'll post a follow-up on this in a week or two.