Drive is a funny thing. Whether called motivation, grit, or determination, the source of one’s drive comes back to two key factors: effort and perseverance. Amongst professionals, drive is commonly misinterpreted as the pivotal element that signifies potential to become great. Idyllic phrases that discuss how to become great, such as ‘hard work and dedication‘, ‘excellence is a habit, not an act’, and ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’ are commonplace quotes that some people haphazardly base their lives around. Unfortunately, these ‘great’ phrases only touch on half of the story, and maybe less. If one believes all it takes to be successful is hard work, failure is imminent. Is your drive harming you? Precedent, rather than explanation, may be the best way to demonstrate this.
Table of Contents
The Boy with a Dream
A 19-year-old teenager is in his early years of college. Courses are a breeze and the materials for which are online, allowing him to complete a semester’s worth of content within a single week. As a business major, the boy is introduced to numerous professional disciplines. This included accounting, finance, supply chain, information systems, economics, etcetera. None of these specialties stood out as areas of interest for the boy, but the concept of business was intriguing.
Goal Formation
Realizing that, he decided that his purpose was to start and run a business. Immediately, he began educating himself in entrepreneurship, compiled his best ideas, and efficiently stood up a technology resale business in partnership with established retailers. Through two years of business, he realized that something was wrong. Despite high sales volume and having done what he had set out to do, success seemed far from grasp. It felt like two years were wasted and in return, he was left with nothing but the realization that this was not the path to success. Pivoting quickly, he learned to code and quickly developed an innovative social media platform, launched it, and fell into the same trap. He then needed work and landed a desk job with the university, helping to optimize scheduling efficiency.
Outcomes Out of Grasp
Despite apparent success and adding value, none of these routes felt like they could ever lead to true success (happiness). The drive demonstrated by the boy was abnormal, yet success did not follow. Some may argue that the quotes discussed previously make it clear that one must keep trying, so that is what the boy should do. In this story, they would be wrong. They boy graduated from college and continued the cycle of ‘hard work and dedication’ to failure. How could this happen when he so clearly demonstrated the efforts laid out by historical prophets? A story on success may help shed light on the difference.
The Rise of a Social Paradigm Shift
A 16-year-old boy in New York has discovered a fascination with computers and technology. In his teenage years, he developed a revolutionary messaging program for his family to send messages through their home computers. At 18, he left for college and quickly realized that he lacked interest in what he was being taught. His mind raced with ideas of innovation built off the backbone of his technological passion.
An Introduction to Social Software
He developed a platform for use at the university that allowed students to ‘rate’ each other’s attractiveness. While this was shut down by the university, it showed the power of social technology and drove further innovation. Realizing the growth limitations of his first project, the boy took some time to strategize and devise a more ambitious idea that the university would have no reason to combat.
Success
His next social technology expanded from simply rating attractiveness to a full technological community communication suite. This development was not ended by the university, and quickly expanded across the nation. From a few hundred users, to a few thousand, then millions, the boy had done what he had set out to do. At the age of twenty-two, there was no doubt that he had done something incredible. A major company offered $1 billion for the boy’s creation, which was hard to turn down. Despite the hefty sum of money, the boy declined, mentioning that if he were to sell the creation, he would just want to make it again because he had more plans for it.
Resolution, Passion, and Self-Belief
Over the years, other offers came in, yet he stayed resolute in his vision. A young Mark Zuckerberg successfully disrupted the world can caused a social paradigm shift. The drive throughout his life was evident from his early creations, to pivoting when his first major idea was tossed wayward by the university.
Drive Is Only Half the Battle
While there are clear differences in the levels of innovation and scale of these stories, the underlying message is clear. Drive alone does not guarantee success. Both boys demonstrated drive, autonomy, and passion, but the outcomes varied drastically. Before continuing onto the explanation of the key differences that led to the varied outcomes, it is important for you to identify why you believe these stories resulted as they did. There is no formula for success, but we can still compile the ingredients we know of. The commonly communicated ‘drive’ factor along with your discoveries and what is below can help ensure that you bring the right ingredients to the table before you begin cooking.
Purpose – Success Is Subjective
The other half of drive that leads to success is purpose. Mark was able to incorporate his passion for technology into what he identified as his root purpose to connect the world. His rejection of exorbitant sums of money shows that he is doing what he should be doing. He had identified his passion and knew that no amount of funding was worth taking that away from him. In the first story, the boy had what he thought was a clear goal – ‘run a profitable business.’ Despite reaching that goal, the boy felt no sense of success. If you find yourself in this position of having what you think you wanted and not feeling successful, it should immediately signal that you stop and take time for introspection.
Subjectivity
Success is subjective, and if one is continuously driving towards the wrong finish line, the drive can only lead to suboptimal outcomes. Communication of drive and grit suggest that one must take failure on the chin and keep fighting. While that has merit, the key is to understand failure rather than continuing to run blindly. From the boy’s first failure that seemed to meet the goal he was chasing; he should have stopped to understand if there was a different target to be homing towards rather than getting back into the fight immediately.
Broad goals should be a sign of a need to refine one’s direction. It is possible that someone’s goal is truly to run their own business, but it is unlikely to be what they are ultimately looking for. Many years down the road, the boy realized that he did not want to run a business; rather, he wanted control of his own life, recognition of success, and, while he appreciated the idea of business, more broadly he appreciated ideas. With this understanding, it is no wonder why his previous efforts had felt unrewarding.
Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Success and Superheroes
Many people read stories like Mark’s and ignorantly idolize them. Idolizing these people and their stories is not a problem, so long as the reasoning behind that is understood. Is it the financial outcome of his success, the recognition he obtained? What about the fact that Mark was able to find and act upon his purpose successfully? Without this understanding, it is possible to view these individuals as superheroes, which is dangerous and inhibiting. When people idolize these stories, it is easy to lose sight of the simple fact that they are human too. While the achievements of those with stories like Mark are intimidating, we are all people. It is possible to achieve success despite the work that is ahead. Furthermore, someone’s achievements say little about who they are. While one common trait is drive, there are people with drive and purpose that have poor character.
Your Turn
So, what now? You just read two abstract stories, but what do you need to do? While the roadmap is different for everyone, it is essential to identify your root purpose. I believe that you can develop drive and grit. Furthermore, I believe there are tricks to effectively feign drive that can lead to great outcomes. Nonetheless, without a purpose, achieving success will be difficult. Identifying this purpose is much easier said than done. I do not have the silver bullet to help everyone identify why they are here, but maybe I can share my thoughts and suggestions in the future. My only guidance is to do what you can, so that when you pass, you do not just drift away into nothingness. Make it so you leave something meaningful behind.
Leave a Reply