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Have you ever known someone who has succeeded in something quite remarkable? This could be starting a highly successful business, writing a blockbuster selling book or similar achievement. Did you ever wonder how they pulled it off? They may not appear to have as much talent as you, be as smart as you, or be as attractive as you.
If you have abilities that come at least as close to those of the average person, you are undoubtedly right about the accomplished person not having more talent, intelligence, or even sex appeal than you. What they do have is high self esteem and a strong belief in themselves.
Did you ever make a list highlighting your skills and talents, and how they contribute to your definition of success? I continue to be pleasantly surprised at the many talents of HumbleDollar readers and contributors.
Please share with us how your unique strengths and abilities have helped you achieve your goals and how you plan to use those skills to continue to grow and achieve what success in life means to you. To paraphrase an old adage, don’t hide your light under a bushel.
I always did very well in Math, and I liked numbers in primary school. I watched my brother become an Engineer. Numbers worked for me, I graduated an Electronic Engineer just when tubes where changing to transistors, and then transistors were changing to the first microchips. In fact in my Senior Year I changed from a Slide Rule, to a calculator. Some of you will have to check that all out at Google or You Tube. If you can you just want to have a job that uses your strengths, and then you will grow to whatever level you can. I was instrumental in Industrial inkjet printing, and in 1970, most people never heard of the work inkjet.
William, you discovered that having a growth mindset, is the key to building on any skill. You found a way to build on your talents and abilities. It all led to your success.
Thanks for your telling us your story
My unique strength is recognizing I don’t have one. I just absorbed the strength and wisdom of others.
> became a US Navy officer in the mid-80’s right out of college when the military was still somewhat out of fashion. I was inspired by President Reagan. Also, it seemed like a cool thing to do (and was).
> worked in tech and started several wacky side hustles such as gutter cleaning. Watched YouTube videos to learn marketing, eCommerce and business law based on the experiences of others.
> read a lot and kept an eye on where society was headed (authors like Alvin Toffler, George Gilder and Jonathan Clements). I tagged along with brains bigger than my own and absorbed their insights.
I now mentor the next generation to share the love and good fortune I have enjoyed throughout life.
Doug, you are an inspiration. Your creativity and self confidence have made it so. You had a good motivator in President Ronald Reagan. Thank you for your service to our great country..
This isn’t about me, but sort of addresses your question.
One of my grandfathers escaped the fabric weaving mills to write ad copy, pamphlets, radio plays in the late-1920s and 1930s. He expanded into a weekly newspaper during WWII and wrote mystery novels during his commute. My grandmother typed and edited. By the time I was born, he quit the ad world and wrote full time. It was a job. He had an office in his house and very strict hours he wrote. His reward at the end of each day was a big drink, usually rye.
After he died, I found a journal he wrote in his late teens (he went to college at age 16, but dropped out due to money). He wrote about how he was going to work hard to be a professional writer. When I was a kid, he had three books on the NYTimes bestseller list, two of them #1. This made him happy, but he wanted more.
I just read Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture.” This was a major part of his life, having big dreams in childhood and striving to fulfill them. I work in research science in a large medical center, and I see that what drives the institution’s clinical and research (and $$) success is people with big long term dreams. But this is not so for many of us who are also successful. My career and personal life has turned out to be supporting other people’s big dreams. I’m doing incredibly interesting things, but the big dream part belongs to other people.
Michael, your grandfather certainly led a fascinating life and achieved a high level of success as an author. And writing for radio was more challenging than it would seem. There was no visual, so people had to imagine what was going on through the efficacy of the dialogue.
You have also achieved success by motivating others to greater heights. Thank you for an interesting story
Set goals and never give up, never accept it can’t be done
Much wisdom in a simple sentence. Thanks, Dick.
I had a dream of becoming a travel writer and found great satisfaction in eventually succeeding (in a modest way), freelancing full time for the last 20 years of my career. Looking back now, decades later, I’m realizing it helped in unrelated jobs, and life in general, to be a “team player”, volunteering to do things such as interview people for a new employee newsletter (the start of a clip file), or taking time to share detailed information to help somebody when requested (which led to an offer to co-author an award-winning guidebook published by a university press).
It also helped to get out of the house, do things, see people, pay attention and speak up when opportunities randomly came along.
Chris, you’ve discovered one of the secrets to a more satisfying and fulfilling life. Your words “pay attention” resonated with me. Too often we walk around as if we were sleeping, not paying enough attention to what is going on around us.
The best way to make our dreams come true is to wake up. Yogi Berra was so right when he remarked “you can observe a lot by just watching.”
Congratulations on your success and for sharing it with us.
One of the traits that I believe has helped me greatly in my life and career is being open to learning from others. I’ve been the recipient of great role models and mentors. Each had something to offer and I have unashamedly borrowed from all of them.
Rick, you not only learned from others, but you inspire and encourage others to become everything they can be. You’re a great example of giving back. And a success in your own life.
Sometimes we don’t know what we can be successful at until we try something new. For example, I always knew I had an artistic bent, but never tried drawing or painting.
Peoples faces always interested me. Fascinating, how different we all are. I began by honing in on what made each individual face pointedly different, And I found a new talent, as a portrait artist. Amateur, of course.
I joined an art alliance, learning from other artists and I took art classes. I branched out to watercolors and to this day I enjoy sketching for my own pleasure.
Marjorie, I second what Dan said. I’ve found that giving a little more than the other party expected gets noticed. And it helps when service is built on a foundation of caring. It’s hard to teach. But it’s a satisfying way to live.
Agree with your wise summation, Ed. Customers have begun to accept mediocre as the new standard. Increased automation has only increased our level of frustration.
Thank you for your comments.
Marjorie, I have never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but 30 years in a service industry taught me about customer service. I kept a spiral note pad in my shirt pocket, and when a customer asked me something special I made a note and followed through ASAP. After acquiring the technical skills necessary to open my tax shop, I applied the customer service practices described above. I always returned phone calls the same day or the following morning, and if I ever made an error, I owned it and made it right. People appreciated that level of service and I attribute 90% of my success to those habits.
Dan, Customer service has declined for the third year in a row, according to a 2024 study by research firm, Forrester.
You identified a need—your clients recognized your sincerity and authenticity. Thanks for sharing your formula for success.