Making it takes time

People will always tell you that success is not made overnight. Fair to say, we can all understand that it's not instantaneous or something that comes out of nowhere. I cannot imagine someone being at home, after doing nothing –activity or meaningful-wise – and being completely unknown, then suddenly becoming a celebrity just for existing. You have to make something to be someone. It can be anything... Literally anything. Good, bad, controversial, not controversial... But something at the end of the day.

What people do not tell you is that after making something you have to continue doing it. And this second time will be harder, because you cannot make the same thing and expect the same level of success. You have to outdo yourself. And the others, too, because you'll get competitors.

I, for example, have a corporate job. Doing the work is just what's expected. I'll get no recognition for being good at what I've to do. Hell, you may get more recognized if you're bad at it.

So, what does it takes to be successful in an environment that takes for granted what you do?

That's the question. Completely, a good question. The thing is... There's no simple answer. But there's one thing that will constant: It will take time. And I don't mean in length, I mean in quantity.

What's been working for me is this:

1. You need to know what's your goal and your audience. Do you want to impress your supervisor? Your supervisor's supervisor? An executive or director? And what for? Do you want a promotion? Or do you want a bonus or salary increase? Define it and learn what it takes to impress that person.
2. You need to be good at what you do. Yeah, we all know this guy who is shit and gets promoted every time. I agree, it sucks, but being good with people or a people pleaser –which, let's face it, has a merit on its own– will only get you so far. There's always a point in life where you're expected to know what you're supposed to do.
3. You need to improve the way you work . Once you've mastered your activities, you need to make it easier and faster. You should be able to do 80% of your work in 20% of the time. The other 80% of your time will be best spent focusing on what you need to do to reach your next goal.
4. You need to teach promote the way you work. Once you're confident that the way you do things is the best way possible you know, be an open book. Share your methods. Teach them to others, so others will feel safe and good about sharing with you how they do their job. You'll always learn something from the most unexpected sources. You also get to look like an expert, and people do respect experts. Do remember: Be humble. Nobody likes smartasses.

Step, step, step, step...

Now, is that going to be simple? Of course not. It's going to take a length of time and a bigger quantity of time. What I mean to say is: Anything you want to achieve will take time. In both vertical and horizontal axis. People always considers the horizontal, the length, but forget the intensity of the time also increases. You'll be expected to do more than the last time, and do it faster and be better.

And it's a constant. I'm no overachiever by any means, but I do know that reaching one goal is just the beginning of another. Every goal is a step for the next activity to reach the next step and so on and so forth. Again, you cannot do it only once to get success.

Well, maybe you could... If you hit the lotto. If you do, please remember me and this post. If it helped you, you could always help me with a million dollars. Right?