How to Succeed: Sometimes, Very Slowly

When I decided I wanted to write, I had no reason to believe I could do it. I had not majored in journalism or English; I had never had a writing job; but I knew this was what I wanted to do. So I started setting goals. First they were small. I just wanted to get one thing in print, anything, even a paragraph. Then one day, one of my stories—a humor piece on being a handball widow—was published in a national handball magazine. I was out of my mind with joy and quite the hit at the handball courts for a few weeks.

The big question then was how to follow my act? I immediately set another goal. When I reached that one, I set another and then another and another. The most important thing about my goals was that one led to the next in a relatively logical formation. I didn't realize that while it was happening. In fact, I had no plan. Every time I reached a goal, I thought of something else I wanted to do, and that became my next target. Haphazard as my "system" was, it worked for me.

It took me four-and-a-half years to fill one little portfolio with published pieces. They are now yellow and somewhat brittle but they are testament to the power of putting one foot in front of the other. This was the lesson: 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 you look up and think, "Wow, I made it!"

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!”