Success: When is the Secret to Be Told

The answer may surprise you

Now listen up!Photo byJen Theodore on Unsplash

I was thinking about why some people are so extremely successful. Why do their lives appear to be superior and have more worth than the rest of us commoners?

Are there shared traits and commonalities between those who are of the upper echelon? All of which are rich, celebrated, and powerful — living a life of comfort, fame, and fortune.

It is a simple question, why does one person fail, and another succeed? Is it hard work? Is this what elevates the elite to the top, making them the cream of the crop?

Could it be successful people are just smarter than everyone else? Does this celebrated ilk attend the best universities, assuring their success?

When they graduate from their Ivy League institution, are they standing with a diploma in one hand and the keys to the summer home in the other? Possibly!

Although, many successful people never graduated from high school, let alone attend an impressive college. Were their amazing accomplishments brought about through sheer ambition?

A strong sense of ambition is a quality found in most successful businessmen, politicians, and celebrities. Could this be the cornerstone when building an empire of gold?

Maybe it is in their blood. Were they destined to be rich and famous from birth, like being born into a royal or super-wealthy family?

For these success stories, their abilities, hard work, education, or ambition had nothing to do with their social accent into the one percent.

Within the prominent few - massive wealth and success are passed via the bloodline. Their offspring merely have to exist to be special. So, herein lies the rub with the wealthy-from-birth crowd.

Should people who are born into an opulent lifestyle be considered when analyzing the key qualities that make a person successful? I pined over this question and decided they too must be factored into the answer. Much like the person who wins the lotto - all wealth must be considered.

There is a rarified group of people who are naturally talented with innate qualities, such as a child prodigy. Their serendipitous abilities can skyrocket them into a position of wealth, prestige, and fame somewhat effortlessly.

Then, we have those people who are smart, talented, creative, and educated, yet are as poor as church mice. These folks are known only by an abstract few. What is the reason for such inconsistencies?

I love a good puzzle as much as the next guy, but this one had me stumped.

It felt like success had a random X-factor to it. The factor was not knowledge, talent, personality traits, or heritage. So, what was the enigmatic but omnipresent little secret to success?

A batter swinging at the baseball.Photo byJohn Torcasio on Unsplash

One evening, while watching a baseball game, an idea came to me. I decided to look at the inconsistencies of success from a physics point of view.

My father was a mathematician, and he would say everything in life could be explained with the right equation.

Thus, I approached the Random X-Factor question as a physics problem. If my answer to the equation is correct, the random element will be the same in each form of success.

As I was saying, I was watching a baseball game when the proverbial light came on. I watched each player step up to the plate, and perform their ritual moves before taking their stance.

The pitcher poised on the mound — spitting, twisting, and scratching at the dirt like an old bull — when good and ready, he looks back at the catcher for his finger-coded instructions.

It is now when the secret is revealed — within a split second, success or failure is decided. We take it all for granted, seeing it as just a game. Our only concern is who wins or loses.

It was then I discovered when you do something is far more important than what you do. With each pitch, the game proved my newfound theory was a home run.

Both the pitcher and the batter understand that when is everything in baseball. The pitcher is trying to outthink the batter with each pitch — making it harder for the batter to find his perfect and accurate when to swing.

I watched the pitcher squeezing his shoulder while conjuring up his next pitch. A curve ball, a fastball, or a slider, which should it be?

The batter with his feet firmly planted, hips swinging slowly from side to side while waiting for his moment to succeed or fail.

If the batter’s timing is off then he misses the ball regardless if his aim is right on the money. It will be a strike, plain and simple!

On the other hand, if he is spot on, then out of the park, it goes.

The X-Factor of life’s success story is when we do something — it’s all about timing.

I just need a break in life!Photo byH. Mikel Feilen

Hard work, training, intelligence, luck, inheritance, talent, and spiritual enlightenment may all play an important role in boosting someone into the stars — but they will only be successful if their timing is perfect at the point of blast off.

Give this a thought, because of timing, being born into a royal family in Paris during the French Revolution could have been a death sentence. Easily, one may be looking at the business end of a guillotine, instead of living an entitled bourgeois life.

We have all heard of people who were geniuses but unfortunately, they were ahead of their time. Their life’s work was left behind in books, art, and music, only to be found and understood later.

During their life, some were ridiculed or even imprisoned as their brilliance went unappreciated, unnoticed, and misunderstood.

In every aspect of success, it is when that dictates the outcome. Look at your own life, you will see how you make when-oriented decisions constantly — many of which are quite crucial, like something as simple as crossing the street.

All success stories first began with when they did, not what they did. What we do is very important too but in this cascading sequence of events the what and how take a backseat to the when.

The trick is always to be prepared, then you will be able to know when to make the big decisions to ensure your success. Also Known As - "Preparation Meeting Opportunity".

So, we search for the magic secret to success only to find it hidden in plain sight. When - you little rascal - is the random X factor to our success equation. Though it never hurts to plan, work towards, and dream.

Peace, Love, and Unconditional Happiness!