Two important factors for success

In my mind, there are two prerequisites for success: hard work and resilience. If you have those two qualities, you can succeed in nearly anything in life. Obviously there can be limiting factors defined by your physical or mental capacity, but many things can be trained/taught to at least get you to an above average level. You just need to have the proper mindset going into the activity.

Strive to be the captain, not the MVP.

Strive to be the captain of your team, not the MVP.
“If everyone would strive to be captain of their team as opposed to the MVP, there would be a lot better teams.” – Derek Jones

“If everyone would strive to be captain of their team as opposed to the MVP, there would be a lot better teams.”

How true is this? Instead of trying to be the superstar, trying to be the center of attention, trying to go viral, trying to produce highlight reels, trying to get recognition from others…just work on being the best teammate you can be.

Respect others, care for them, and do things the right way. Everything you do, do intentionally. Take pride in your work. Share credit with your teammates and take accountability for your faults. Be positive. Communicate clearly to those you work with. Always try to improve – not just yourself, but your team as well. The more you can be a team player, even if that means that you lose out on some of the glory, the better your team success will be.

Looking back

Always strive for growth. Never stop trying. Never give up.
Someday you’ll look back on all the progress you made and be so glad that you didn’t give up.

We all get stuck from time to time, but if we keep chipping away at our goals, one day we’ll look back at what was once difficult and realize how far we’ve come since then.

When we’re making slow and steady progress, we may not realize how much we’ve improved. But take a moment to look back. Reflect on how far you’ve come already and keep that in mind when you feel like giving up on today’s tough task.

Don’t give up. Never stop trying to improve yourself. Always keep learning, growing, developing new skills, and enhancing old ones.

On trying new things…

If there is something that you heard about, but don’t know what it is, look it up.

If there is a vegetable that you’ve seen but never tried, buy it and look up a recipe on how to cook it.

If a friend asks you to go to some new place/event and you’ve never experienced anything like it before, go for it.

Do not be afraid of trying new things. Most of the time, the economic cost is minimal. But to live a life to the fullest by experiencing as much of what it has to offer as possible? That’s invaluable.