The Hidden Secret to Success: It's Not Just About the Big Day

We all want to be successful, don’t we? We strive for it, read books about it, attend conferences to learn about it. Success is something every single one of us wants to achieve. But how do we do it? How can we really be successful?

When I think about what it truly takes to achieve success, I’m reminded of a story from a friend of a friend, named Hannah. She attempted to swim across the English Channel—one of the most grueling swims in the world.

The Channel spans 21 miles with waters that stay around 14°C (57°F). The first six hours, the current pushes you in one direction, and the next six hours, it pushes you in the opposite direction. Add jellyfish, unpredictable weather, and the fact that it’s one of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet (with 600 giant tankers and 200 ferry crossings daily), and you’ve got a real challenge. To top it off, if you want your swim to count as an official attempt, you can’t wear a wetsuit.

Hannah fought through all of this. After 15 hours of swimming, she reached the coast of France. To put that in perspective, the world record for the swim is 7 hours—so 15 hours is a pretty solid time.

Two hours into the swim, Hannah was vomiting every 10 minutes. She wanted to give up. She was exhausted, cold, and nauseous. But she kept going. Why? Because she knew people were tracking her journey back home. She didn’t want to let them down. And that sense of responsibility to others kept her going when her resolve was at its weakest.

To me, this story is a perfect example of persistence. When things got tough, Hannah found the strength to push through, not just for herself, but for the people cheering her on. Isn’t that something we can all relate to? When we feel like giving up, it’s often the thought of letting others down that pushes us to keep going.

However, if you ask Hannah about her swim, she made it very clear: that’s not the core of her story.

You might be thinking that the key to success in this case was perseverance—the ability to dig deep when things got tough. After all, isn’t that what we’re all taught? Do your best, push through, and do it for others when you feel like you can’t do it for yourself?

But here’s the thing: anyone can do their best when everyone’s watching. Anyone can dig deep when it’s game time. The real question is, what were you doing before the spotlight hit?

My friend, John Maxwell, often says, “Spectacular results are always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”

Everyone wants spectacular results, but if you haven’t laid the groundwork, your best efforts won’t be enough. They might give you a little boost—maybe an extra 10%—but that still might leave you 60% short of what’s needed.

Hannah was celebrated for her achievement that day. But her success wasn’t just about her swim across the Channel. It was the years of grueling, unspectacular training that nobody saw—when no one was cheering her on or tracking her progress.

If you want to be successful, whether as a speaker, an entrepreneur, or in any field, the same principle applies: success isn’t made in the moment—it’s made in the preparation that comes long before.

You’ve probably heard Bear Bryant’s famous quote: “It’s not the will to win that’s important. Everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that is really important.”

But hearing that and actually living it out are two entirely different things, aren’t they?

You know you’ll dig deep if the opportunity presents itself, but here’s the thing: when that moment arrives, it’s too late to prepare. If you haven’t put in the work, your best effort won’t be enough.

As the old Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

Start preparing now—even when no one is watching. Do the work every day. Invest in yourself and your skills, so that when your moment comes, you’ll be ready. And when the spotlight hits, people will see the success you’ve cultivated in private, through years of consistent, unspectacular preparation. The results? They will speak for themselves.

What are som stories you think of when you hear the word consistency?