The side of sucess that you don’t see

@Travis: I think it's interesting because you have to find a balance between the living in the moment and working towards success. The thing I think to keep in mind is to have goals but be in the moment when are are working on them.

@Walter: It's like a bank account where you invest over time. I think of it as compound interest. Every action you take is a deposit in your bank of success.

Looking at successful people, we only see the external manifestation. But if we take the time to understand the struggle they have made we will see the secret. It is laying down the foundation one day at a time. :-)

Very true... and and I think it's important to remember that a lot of times too. While it can be extremely easy to get bogged down and constantly worry about the "right here and right nows" of life.... sometimes it's the uphill battles that define us more than anything. Interesting site you have here though; looks of good, well written material.

Srinivas, thanks for this post.
It's easy to see someone's 'success' (the outcome) without seeing the long hard hours people have put into their passions. A great reminder that we build our own lives one brick at a time.

@Boris: Thanks for stopping by.

@Oscar: We definitely forget that about the work no one is seeing which is why I wanted to write this post.

@Mystic. Absolutely.

Yes, one brick at a time. But soetimes the problem is, we don't really know what we're trying to build. Once you know - it's all so much easier.. ;)

Srinivas, I agree with Boris, overnight success is many many nights at work when no-one is seeing.

Srinivas,
Great point!
"Overnight success" requires years of dedication.

@Eduard: I definitely think there's something to be said for having the right tools. I think there's so much personal development crap out there that we don't really take time to narrow down what works for us and discard the rest.

@Kenji: It's interesting that the struggle is inspirational. Yet, we don't see that. What we see is the A-list bloggers and where they are at today. We see people at the top of the mountain but we don't see the climb.

Personally, I think the story of the struggle that "successful people" go through is more inspiring than the success itself. It's far too often that we ignore all the failures people experience before succeeding just once. That's a shame.

Yup, persistence is a very important factor. But then, i think so are a couple of other things like planning, using the right tools and adapting. Success (in personal development included) is a complex equation and it's important to get all the variables right or close to it.

All the best,

Eduard