Success has a paradox built into it.

Everyone is chasing success.  To assist us achieve  success we are able to access a myriad of resources such as self-help books, podcasts, and coaches in an instant.

Once we achieve the success, we start receiving praise and acknowledgement for that success.  Even in this moment, we are often left with a feeling of emptiness, wondering if achieving success was all it was cracked up to be.  This feeling is summarised by Rita Rudner, when she said “Even if you win the rat race, the problem is that you are still a rat” or as Steven Covey put it “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall”.

 When I reflect on this paradox, I believe it stems from the belief that if we work hard, we will achieve success which will mean we will be happy!

The problem with this belief is the harder we work the more success we desire which makes achieving a state of happiness like chasing a rainbow.

I believe a better way to approach business and life is to be happy first, which means we will work hard to achieve success.