Overnight success? I doubt it.

I'm always intrigued when I hear about someone who is an "overnight success." It seems they suddenly appeared on the scene or wrote a best seller and took the public by storm. Such stories make it sound like the person woke up that morning, leaped on stage and became an instant American Idol winner. Somehow, I doubt that. What about all the singing lessons or the hours and days spent staring at a blank computer screen, the false starts and rejections, the doubts and redoubled efforts? Few people are born stars; mostly, they work, practice, fail, try again, and, if they are very fortunate, eventually triumph.

Success doesn’t always come in one dramatic leap. Most of the time, it is incremental, one tiny step at a time. Then, one day they look up and think, “Wow, I made it!”