When you see someone find success, it can be easy to attribute it to good fortune. Or perhaps a genetically-inspired skill set that made their success inevitable.
That’s why I like reading about successful people. Usually, their story isn’t one of skill or luck.
The John Maxwell Company highlighted this so well in a post about Julie Andrews. I grew up with parents who were hooked on musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein, so I was no stranger to the music from The Sound of Music.
It turns out, much to my surprise, that Andrews wasn’t born a natural singer. And she endured a ton of failure in her career.
The article raises a number of points, but two of them really spoke to me.
- When it comes to success, we overestimate luck, and we underestimate the role of hard work.
- When it comes to success, we overestimate skill, and we underestimate stamina.
Why do we do that? I have a guess.
