Periodically we all come across a situation where we scratch our head and ask ourselves, “Why is that person far more successful than me?” You may have gone to school with them, or are neighbors with them, or maybe even are related to them (even worse – HA!)
You may say to yourself, “They don’t seem any smarter than me. They don’t seem to have any magical talent. Yet, they seem to be kicking my butt in the success category. What gives?”
There is a difference, and it may be minor, but as you can see for yourself, the results can be enormous. Take for instance the difference between two neighbors where each household makes $150k annually. One saves 5%, the other saves 20% annually. Now they live in the same neighborhood, their kids go to the same schools, they grill hamburgers on the same size decks in the backyard but I can assure you over time, the differences in wealth will be gigantic.
Let’s assume that the compounding rate of return is 8% over 20 years. Saving 5% of $150k each year is $7,500. Compounded over 20 years and the one neighbor accumulates $343,214. Not bad. But how about the other neighbor that saves 20% annually. That’s annual savings of $30k a year. Compounded over 20 years and that neighbor accumulates $1,372,859. Keep everything else constant. They exercise the same, they sleep the same amount, they watch TV the same amount, and they spend the same amount of time with their families. One difference can make all the difference.
This doesn’t just stop at any particular habit or behavior. What if one person is extra good at building relationships. What would that do over the course of a career? What if one person was extra good at learning new skills. What would that do over the course of a career? What if one person exercised daily while the other person didn’t? What if one person smoked and one person didn’t? What if one person kept trying to build a business on the side while the other person didn’t. What would any of these things do as far as adding to the probabilities of success over a lifetime?
Ambition comes down to personal discipline and personal responsibility. If you aren’t going to take action for your own benefit, nobody else is going to do it for you. Your parents can want and beg you to succeed all they want. They can’t make you succeed even if they are successful themselves. You have to do it for yourself.
Life is full of small differences between people.
Most people don’t pay any attention to these small differences in habits and behaviors or in choices. They all just assume everything will equal out over the long term. But it doesn’t work that way. Over time those small differences compound into major results between any two people. It’s up to each of us to choose for ourselves.
If you are left wondering why somebody is more successful, don’t guess about it. Study them, ask them, watch them, and listen to them. They obviously are doing something that is making a difference. Your objective is to keep accumulating the knowledge and understanding that is necessary to advance to your own goals and objectives.
Good habits lead to good behaviors. Good behaviors lead to good decisions. Good decisions lead to a good life. Live by principles and choose wisely.