David J.

Pollay

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April 20, 2009

Your Success and Rocket Science

If we watch commercials on television, listen to promotions on the radio, flip through magazine ads and read marketing e-mails, we are constantly told that we’re missing out. We could be making lots of money by working only a few hours a week, buying “special” products or taking a weekend seminar. We’re told our path to greatness and having everything we want in life can be had almost overnight.

We know in our hearts that success is not achieved this way. Success takes time. When we get away from all the marketing hype, we realize that sustained success comes to those who love what they do, feel that their work matters and are committed to becoming experts in their field. During good times and bad times we should invest in what is meaningful and long-lasting.

Stephen King has sold more than 300 million books. One of his books, On Writing, is a book about the craft of writing and his journey as a writer. His success is not a get-rich-quick story. King wrote, “By the time I was fourteen (and shaving twice a week whether I needed to or not) the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.”
 

The next time you’re being seduced by a “short-cut to success” message, think of Stephen King’s journey to 300 million books.

Rocket science and your plans

When we give up believing there’s an overnight path to success, we’re faced with the reality that achieving our dreams will require significant effort. And if we’re just getting started, things can look complicated – there’s so much to learn and do. This was the challenge I experienced when I decided to form my own publishing business. I’m a newspaper columnist and speaker – I know very little about book publishing, printing, distribution, promotion, logistics, sales and fulfillment. Everything I needed to do felt overwhelming. (And if you read the news, book publishing is a business in peril.)

And then, I got lucky. I had longstanding plans to take my family to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the trip helped me put everything back in perspective. We took every tour and we visited every exhibit. We walked inside a retired space shuttle. We watched the assembly of components for the International Space Station. We saw one of the original rockets that took astronauts to the moon. We took a picture of the lunar rover.

On one of the tours I learned that it took over 400,000 people working together to get the first astronauts to the moon. 400,000 people! That’s a lot of rocket scientists. When I heard that, I immediately thought of my publishing effort. It just wasn’t that complicated after all. It would require a lot of work, but I could do it. I could succeed on my mission without requiring rocket scientists.

Ask yourself if your plan requires rocket scientists.

Our perspective

Life is full of challenges, especially during this down economy. But, more than ever we must keep our perspective. We must focus on what matters.

Maybe it’s time for us to have the persistence of Stephen King, and the inspiration of NASA’s rocket scientists.  

David J. Pollay is the creator of The Law of the Garbage Truck™. Mr. Pollay writes the Monday Morning Momentum Blog each week. He is a syndicated columnist with the North Star Writers Group, creator and host of The Happiness Answer™ television program, and an internationally sought after speaker. Mr. Pollay’s book, Beware of Garbage Trucks!™, is due out later this year. Mr. Pollay is the founder and president of the consulting and seminar organization, The Momentum Project.

© 2009 David J. Pollay. Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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