How to go from successful to very successful (and why most people cant do it)

How to go from successful to very successful (and why most people cant do it)How to go from successful to very successful (and why most people cant do it)Success is an obsession.Many people want it more than anything else. And theyll sacrifice everything to have itwhich is often the cost of admission.But theres a problem. Sustaining success, and goingbeyondsuccess is nearly impossible for most people. Hence Greg McKeown, author ofEssentialism,questions, Why dont successful people and organizations automatically become very successful?McKeowns answer is succinctSuccess is a catalyst for failure.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBeing invisible is easy. When you make mistakes, youre the only one who notices. Even being the underdog is easy. If you fail, youre justified in doing so.But when the spotlight is on you, everyone is waiting for you to fail. The external pressure often beco mes too overpowering, smothering the values and vision it took to become successful in the first place.Which is why success is often a short-lived experience. People come and go. Very few remain on top for long. For example, only eight NFL teams have won the Super Bowlback-to-back. As 49ers coach, Bill Walsh has said,The toughest thing I ever had to do welches get my team to overcome success disease.Winning a first Super Bowl, according to Walsh, is enormouslyeasierthan winning a second or third.This is true in all life domains. If you succeed in business, life doesnt get easier. It gets harder.Success Is Much Harder To Deal With ThanFailureNearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a mans character, give him power.Abraham LincolnFor most people, privilege is a poison.Once you succeed or have certain privileges (e.g., time, money, fame, accolades), one of two things happensYour focus shifts from the cause of your success to its effects. Rather than continuing to hon e your craft, you indulge in the benefits of your prior success, which inevitably damages future performance. Hence the saying, Success skips a generation. The children of the successful dont learn the causes but only relish in the benefits.Or, you experience an intensification of internal pressure to keep succeeding. Many people cant handle this level of pressure and it often ends careers prematurely. Yet, this escalation of internal pressure is what prevents a person from being consumed by external noise (i.e., distraction) that come with success. As Robert Horry, former NBA player has said,Pressure can burst a pipe, or pressure can make a diamond.Internal, not external, pressure is what makes you successful. Increasing the pressure is what keeps you going.Success Vs. AchievementThe difference between success and achievement is subtle but crucial. Success is asubjective feelingabout how youre doing relative towhyyoure doing it. Achievement is an objective measure aboutwhatyouve ac tually done.Yet, success is far more important than achievement. Indeed, you could have all the achievements in the world and not be successful.You see this all the time, people who have many external indicators of success, yet inwardly, they are a wreck.Theyvelost their why,and thus, no longer remember the reason they are pursuing their goals in the first place.What once was a genuine passion has now become a need for more external validation. An endless need to acquire and achieve more. Thus, rather than focusing onwhy,the focus becomes onwhatwill work, and doing as much of that as possible, most likely at the expense of your values.According to Seth Godin,Art is when a human being does something that might not workWhen youre focused onwhat,you only care if it works, you no longer knowwhyyoure doing it.Interestingly, many successful entrepreneurs admit to being happier before they were successful, back when their motivations were congruent with their values. Achievement poisoned t hem, and their motivation changed.When your motivation shifts from intrinsic to extrinsic, your performance naturally drops over the long-run. You may be able to sustain high performance for a while, often at great cost to your health, relationships, and finances.From Successful To Very SuccessfulSuccess is something you attract by the person you become.Jim RohnIf success is your primary objective, you probably wont get it. Chasing success is like chasing happiness. You cant pursue it directly. Both success and happiness ensue from something far more fundamentalwho you are.Success comes from consistency to your vision and values. Although difficult because of the added noise that comes from achievement, becoming very successful requires remaining consistent to your vision and valueswho you are.When you stay consistent and true, youll continue to hone your craft, even after you become world-class.Youll say no to all of the distractions that come your way, no matter how enticing they are.You wont let your ego inflate and forget who you really are. You wont abandon your values and the most important people in your life.Dont forget your why. That may be the hardest thing you do as you seek to improve your life. AsRyan Holiday recently said of Tim Ferriss,He does what he does because he enjoys it, and hes compelled to create, experiment and improve because thats who he is. Tim is still Tim. Most people are made worse by success, and thats a shame. It has suited Tim well and thats a model I aspire to.How I Turned $25,000 Into $374,592 In Less Than 6MonthsIve created a free training that will teach you how to become world-class and successful at anything you choose.Access the free trainingherenowThis article first appeared on Medium.