Does Success Leave Clues?

One of the questions I always asked myself about success was whether, in fact, it leaves clues.

It is a common notion in the business world that “you shouldn’t invent the wheel.”

But does this maxim also apply to success?

In our opinion, no!

We think that most people don’t understand why many people around them are successful and they are not.

We believe that success leaves clues, for those who want to see them!

You can learn from the successful people around you.

In the Leadership field, one of our passions is precisely this: why some people are exceptional.

Many people who approach this subject tend to say that “it’s innate”.

There may be some characteristics born with leaders, but most are learned in the harsh reality of everyday life.

Now, if some learned it, it can be learned by all.

Maybe it is not so with the generality of people, but with a great majority of the people we work with, this is the reality.

This so-called “not inventing the wheel” is sometimes also called “Strategy Modeling” by us. When used well, it is one of the most effective learning techniques we know.

And, like all the techniques we advocate, it is really very simple.

Let’s see…

All human beings function based on success strategies and failure strategies.

Every time we accomplish something, and it works, our brain internally reinforces that success and begins to create a strategy pattern.

What happens in brain terms (in a very simplified way) is that the first time we accomplish something, certain neuronal connections are established.

The second time we perform the same task or operation, that neuronal connection is reinforced.

The third time, it gets reinforced again, and so on.

After an average of 3 weeks or 21 days, our brain, which is a pretty intelligent machine, starts thinking:

“Well, if you’re doing this so often, then this had better be done automatically, without you even thinking about it.”

In this situation, that neuronal connection goes directly to the hypothalamus area, and from then on, we don’t have to think about doing that task.

Think about this: when you drive, do you stop to think about what you are doing?

Of course not. This action is already in the automatic domain.

Now, what does this have to do with learning?

The problem with learning a strategy from a successful person is precisely this.

This person often doesn’t even think about when he does it anymore.

But if we want to model it, how can we do it?

If we don’t have the confidence to ask him, the only alternative is to keep a close eye and observe everything he does and, above all, how he does it.

If we have the confidence to do so, we can talk to the person and “scrutinize” how they act.

It helps to ask several questions, such as:

• How, in your view, do you do it, and does it work?
• What do you think works best?
• In what circumstances does it work or not work?
• How do you approach that problem?
• What resources do you use?
• The first few times you did it, what do you think made the difference?

These are just some of the questions we can use to get ourselves on the right track.

Then it’s about having the courage to get out of our comfort zone and experiment.

Some of the times we will succeed, some of the times we won’t.

If we succeed, we are left with one more tool that will help us move forward toward success, much better prepared.

This week, stop to think: who can I have as a role model in my area of activity? Who is successful?

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Also published on Medium.