Key to Success: The Elephant in the Room

From time immemorial, people have presumably known the secret to success in life. Whether the topic is love, money, gambling, or anything else, there is no shortage of advice out there on how you could become a success story if only you, too, would…(fill in the blank). Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has sold over fifteen million copies. But what if you follow all of the advice on the market and it doesn’t really work out? Or what if you follow none of this advice and boom! business picks up, your personal relationships improve, and you’ve just landed pocket aces? What gives?

One can always fall back on “it was/wasn’t meant to be,” or “it was destiny,” but these are rather lame excuses for someone who preaches a winning strategy which failed. Also, why is it that so many marriage counselors are divorced, once, twice or more? 

In my humble opinion, the seven habits of highly effective people (being proactive, goal-oriented, focused on priorities, collaborative, empathetic, mutually beneficial and updated on mind/body health) provide a steady starting point for growth, however there is no magic wand. I wonder how many of the fifteen million owners of this book feel they are as “effective” as they once hoped.
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I would argue that there is an elephant in the room which people seeking success— and even more so those who have found it—do not like to discuss. Call it luck, call it good timing, call it divine assistance, call it what you like, but a person’s due diligence, while necessary, only goes so far. No matter how many cold calls a young attorney makes when the paint is still wet on his new office door, he won’t be drowning in work unless his perseverance is coupled with a little help from the big elephant.

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