How to Succeed at Anything

Create something great. That’s the best trick. Creating something that people want to use will ensure its success. That’s all there is. Look at all the people at the top of their industries. Sure, they’ve found some tricks along the way, but they’ve also all created something great.

Make something that satisfies a need. A good place to start is your own life. Have you ever wanted something that doesn’t exist? Why not make it? Even if you there’s nothing that you want that doesn’t already exist, what do others need? No one needed Airbnb before it existed, hotels were fine, right?. Uber? What was wrong with getting a taxi? Many things, so Uber became an alternative. These services are not perfect. Nothing is. They’re different, they satisfy a need and they’re amazing at what they do.

No one gets hired as an ideas man, everyone is good at that. Even if you aren’t, you’ll be more than compensated for by those around you. Most ideas are terrible, few are great. Even if an idea is great, it will always only ever be an idea unless it’s executed. A great idea, executed poorly is no longer great. The combination of a great idea and great execution is what creates something great. Make something great.

This diagram from Derek Sivers says it all.