SME Strategy Leadership, Management and Strategy

Gangnam style- Luck or hardwork?

Written by Anthony Taylor | October 20

I know what you're thinking: "I'm so OVER Gangnam style, why is Anthony still talking about it?"

Because GANGNAM style is what entrepreneurship is ALL about. It's about feel good stories, it's about the under dog, it's about putting in hard work with seemingly little results, and then BAM!

Robert Sacre (BC born and now Los Angeles Laker) has a tattoo that resonates with that: "water the bamboo".  Farmers water this Bamboo seed for years, four years with nothing to show, but once it sprouts, it can grow 90 feet in 60 days.

Here is a Tedx video from the originator of this philosophy: Greg Bell:


So Gangnam style: 

What I don't think people know is that this was PSY's ( the artist) sixth album. He's been making music for many years. Now, with one song, he becomes a world wide phenomenon, with an extremely successful (catchy and viral) song. 

Sometimes entrepreneurs expect success HUGE success FAST.

A friend of a friend built an app and it sold for millions in under a year. This is fantastic for him, but he is the exception, not the rule.

So, what makes success? Luck or hard work?

Both.

"I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances.
Be more active. Show up more often."
-Brian Tracy

"People often remark that I'm pretty lucky. Luck is only important in so far as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you've got to have talent and know how to use it. "
-Frank Sinatra
 

I'm not saying that everything you do will be a success just because you take your time and do it. There are bad business that will always be bad businesses, regardless of how much time and effort you put in. 

But, I think that because of the media coverage around young instant successes, we can easily get discouraged about the amount of time and work that is necessary to reach our goals. Things take time, and we have to learn to be patient. 

 

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