The 4 Pillars Of Uncommon Success

Sometimes life forces suffering upon us, but just as often, we force suffering upon ourselves. This self-imposed suffering arises from many sources, be it bad habits, unconscious blind spots, irrational fears or the refusal to learn from past mistakes. But less obvious sources also play a role in this suffering and one of which is the failure to cast off the chains of mediocrity, to recognize the pathology of normality, and to acknowledge the powers lying dormant within. Or as Carl Jung echoed:

“To be ‘normal’ is the ideal aim for the unsuccessful, for all those who are still below the general level of adaptation. But for people of more than average ability … the moral compulsion to be nothing but normal signifies the bed of Procrustes – deadly and insupportable boredom, a hell of sterility and hopelessness.” Carl Jung, The Practice of Psychotherapy

When it is our choice to remain mediocre and normal that is the generator of our suffering, the best cure is to structure our life around the pursuit of uncommon success. We can strive for such success in a multitude of ways, such as mastering a craft or skill, dedicating ourselves to a meaningful cause, or starting a business. But if we choose this cure it is prudent to remember that uncommon success is uncommon for a reason.

“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.” Spinoza, Ethics

Part of the difficulty in achieving uncommon success is due to the persistence and hard work needed to manifest our visions and ideas. But another difficulty lies in a lack of knowledge regarding the psychology of success. In this essay, we are going to investigate 4 of the pillars of success, and in so doing, arm ourselves with practical knowledge that can help us rise above the monotony of normality.

An intense desire to succeed, the removal of limiting beliefs, a divine discontent, and a newfound trust in the intuitive side of our being – these are the four pillars of success. And by cultivating these pillars in our life we build the foundations for an escape from mediocrity through the attainment of excellence and uncommon success:

1. An intense desire to succeed

The first pillar of success is desire. Unless we really want to excel at the task we place before ourselves, unless we possess an intense and burning desire to attain excellence in our chosen field, uncommon success will remain but a pipe dream. “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” wrote Napoleon Hill in his classic book Think and Grow Rich. If asked, most of us will say we desire success and so we may believe that we satisfy this first condition. But all-too often our verbal affirmations lack sufficient emotional backing. Our desire for success is not the all-consuming need it must become if we are to transform our lives around the pursuit of our mission and to actually do what it takes to cultivate the excellence required to become a success.

“We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents.” Eric Hoffer, The Passionate Mind

2. The removal of limiting beliefs

The second pillar of success involves a change to our self-image, specifically, the removal of self-limiting beliefs. The easiest way to remove such beliefs is to recognize firstly that we exist well below our potential and if we believe otherwise, we are likely deluded. Secondly, self-limiting beliefs can be diminished if we acknowledge the open-ended nature of human life. No matter how much time we have wasted, no matter how much we think our future is predetermined by the tyranny of our past, the fact is that as humans we possess an uncanny ability to learn and change and chance also plays a massive role in what is to become of us. So long as we still have the capacity to experiment with new patterns of thought and behavior, it remains possible for us to redeem our self through the cultivation of excellence. Ralph Waldo Emerson rightly stated that: “The power which resides in [us] is new in nature”, and to add to his sentiment, we will never know how high this idiosyncratic power can take us until we put it to the test. As Nietzsche echoed.

“There is only one way in the world on which nobody can walk except for you. Do not ask, walk on it. Who was it that said, “a man never rises higher than when he does not know where his way may yet lead him?”” Nietzsche, Untimely Meditations

3. A divine discontent

With an intense desire to achieve uncommon success and a recognition of the great possibilities open to us, the third pillar of success requires that we cultivate a “divine discontent” with respect to our work. This means never being satisfied with our current status. Each peak of achievement should be viewed not as a cause for prolonged rest or celebration, but as a mere stepping-stone to the next challenge. When we are divinely discontented, we are insatiable in our desires – we always want to achieve more, create more, and conquer more. Our focus is fixated on our present tasks and future goals, what we have created or achieved is but a relic of the past. We harbor a perpetual dissatisfaction because we know, whatever we have done, we are capable of so much more.

“There is perhaps no better way of measuring the natural endowment of a soul than by its ability to transmute dissatisfaction into creative impulse.” Eric Hoffer, The Passionate Mind?

Or as Tim Grover, the personal trainer of some of the greatest basketball players of our generation including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, writes:

“Being relentless means demanding more of yourself than anyone else could ever demand of you, knowing that every time you stop, you can still do more. You must do more. The minute your mind thinks, “Done”, your instincts say, “Next.”” Tim Grover, Relentless

4. Trust in the intuitive side of our being?

The fourth and final pillar of success involves our instincts – we need to let go of our reliance on the purely cognitive and trust the wisdom of our gut instincts and intuitive side. Many of us in the modern world are pathological thinkers: we have a tendency to overthink to the point of paralyzing us into inaction. We have not sufficiently grasped Nietzsche’s insight that “knowledge kills action”, nor Goethe’s realization that overthinking serves no other purpose than of “diverting attention from activity in the outer world to some false, inner speculation.” If we have an idea related to a creation, a project, or a business, our gut is often the best arbiter as to whether we should begin and if the gut says yes, but the mind offers doubts, then we should override our mind and act. After our initial actions receive real world feedback we can then use our mind to analyze if and how we need to adjust course, but unless we take the initial leap our cognitive ruminations are likely to keep us paralyzed in passivity. As Grover advises:

“There is zero chance you’ll get anywhere if you allow yourself to become paralyzed by soft excuses and countless reasons why you’ll never get to where you want to be. Trust your gut to navigate the hard road to get there. The satisfaction and sense of achievement will blow your mind when you finally arrive, knowing you arrived on your own with only your instincts to guide you. Stop thinking. Stop waiting. You already know what to do.” Tim Grover, Relentless

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden