Louis Camassa recently authored an insightful post on LinkedIn, which can be found here. One line that resonated with me was his closing sentiment:
“The day you think you’ve reach[ed] the top, and stop striving, is the day you’ll fall to the bottom.”
People achieve because of the processes they put in place to realize their accomplishments – the accomplishments themselves are not achievement. When people lose sight of the process and cling to past accomplishments, they trade hunger for hubris … they trade passion for passiveness.
Successful people are not successful because of their accomplishments or feats. Successful people are successful because of the processes they implemented that are tangibly captured in their accomplishments. Without the process, the accomplishment itself, and future accomplishments, are nonexistent.
Most people have seen the show, “Shark Tank.” For those who haven’t – it’s a show where successful, business-savvy investors listen to pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs. If one, or multiple Sharks, are keen on the entrepreneur’s pitch, the Sharks will try and strike an investment deal with the budding entrepreneur.
Why is this reference relevant? Well, when I previously viewed the show, I would frequently ask myself, “Why are the Sharks battling each other to entice these tiny minnows? Why are they still working so hard when they could be enjoying their success?”
And then it dawned on me – the battles, the hard work, the continued determination … they are all components of a Shark’s DNA. The Sharks got to where they are today because of the immense time, effort, and sacrifice they’ve integrated into their processes. Whether the Shark started an incredibly powerful fashion brand, or a flourishing realty company, all the Sharks stuck to their processes that manifested in their brands, companies, and ideas, which ultimately translated into billions of dollars and unprecedented success.
These Sharks continue to swim as Sharks because they continue their processes. Exhibited by the way they fight for new minnows, or still dedicate 16+ hours a day to their various businesses, these Sharks reveal their true colors in how they attack their prey and collaborate with other sea creatures. They don’t get caught up in their past success, and they don’t let their popularity slow themselves down. They allow themselves to be who they truly are, according to their DNA. They still have hunger, and they still have passion. They need to fuel that passion by curbing their hunger … and to curb their hunger, they need more minnows. They need their feed. And the only way they can quench their hunger is to continue the process that has fed them throughout their life’s swim. The process of time, effort, and sacrifice continues to guide each Shark’s mindset, hunt, and dominance.
Long story short: be hungry and be passionate! Respect the process that got you to where you are today, and continue to leverage your process to further your mission and your value-add to society.
Thank you, Louis Camassa, for inspiring this blog post. His initial post can be found here.
