Pay Attention, Work Hard, Experiment a Lot, and Keep at it Until You Get Lucky

"Origin" by J.A. Konrath. At this moment, it's FREE in Kindle format.

Do you ever wonder why some people are successful while you struggle? Do you ever get pissed, jealous, or downright confused by the situation?

If so, then this post by J.A. Konrath on his self-publishing blog may interest you. He recently posted a story of how he made over $100,000 from three weeks of sales of his Kindle books. The post garnered a variety of responses, so he posted a follow up, titled “Reality Check.”

I encourage you to check it out, even if you have no interest in writing novels or self-publishing. He dispels myths about how he achieved his “overnight” success, and shares his story of what it took to get him there.

Here’s an excerpt:

To me, the most important bit comes at the end:

Click here to read the full post…

24 years of hard, barely rewarded work, doing what he loved and dreamed, until finally he found the right system and, in his own words, “got lucky.”

What does this mean to you?

I am not going to sit here and tell you to suck it up for 24 years. There’s a time to evaluate your progress, dreams, life, and goals. Sometimes the result of that evaluation is that you decide to move on.

However, I am posting this because I want you to take 3 things away:

1) Set Proper Expectations.

Can you succeed at anything you want? I believe that in 99% of the cases the answer is “yes.” (Whenever I say something like that some yahoo likes to pipe up with, “oh yeah? I’m 52 years old, out of shape, and only 5’3″ tall. Can I play professional basketball???” Hence the “99 %”). The question, in Konrath’s own words, is “How hard are you willing to work, and how long are you willing to wait, before success happens?” Work hard for a short period or work lazy for a long period, and your chances of success go down. Work hard, and be willing to work hard for a long time, and your chances of success go up. Don’t expect to half-ass it and achieve your dreams in just a few months…

2) Try Different Approaches.

 One of my favorite lines from the post is, “Right now I’m making a lot of money because I’m paying close attention to what Amazon is doing, experimenting a lot, and getting lucky.” He experimented a lot. He tried many different approaches to reach publishing success, until he came upon the one that worked for him. Don’t assume that the first approach you try is the only one; if it’s not working, experiment a lot until you find the one that works for you.

3) Stop Shooting for a “One-Shot Homerun.”

I know too many people who are waiting for that “one-big thing” to catapult them to success. It might happen, but the more hope you put into that, the more depressed you’ll be. Build up a monstrous body of work, a huge network of contacts, a giant stack of testimonials, and a wealth of experience. Your “one-shot homerun” may happen when you least expect, but only if you keep at it.

I hope you feel inspired and not depressed by Konrath’s post. Yes, it took him two-and-a-half decades to reach “success.” But it inspires me to think that if you just keep at it, and keep trying new things, and keep working hard, you can achieve whatever level of success you aspire to as well.

To summarize Konrath’s approach, the formula for success is simple, but not at all easy:

• Pay Attention
• Work Hard
• Experiment a Lot,
• Keep at it Until You Get Lucky

How are you at dong all four of those things…?

P.S. Hey, if you like this post, why don’t you share the love and click the Facebook “Like” button at the top of this page…?

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By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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