The Success Stories We Don’t Read About
My friend sent me this link to a Malcolm Gladwell article that discussed the differences between early geniuses and late bloomers. It is nice to see a nod to the people who have worked hard at their professions for many years, and finally attain the level of success they dreamed of.
I liked this article. I also think that the media’s love of the big success stories leaves out a lot of inspiring people.
There are other ways of looking at career success beyond the young genius and the older achiever. Some people might be successful in multiple parts of their work life from youth to old age.
That success might be in the form of earning millions of dollars, or by introducing a product or service that positively impacts a large group of people. The success might be satisfaction from achieving a high level of skill in topics they are passionate about. Maybe it is pride in taking a career risk that improved the quality of their lives. It might be a feeling of contentment from diligently pursuing work that allows them to support family members.
I would like to read inspiring news stories that feature the success of people who do well but aren’t famous and didn’t generate top hits in their fields.
Thinking about success more broadly leaves room for people that have patchwork careers or successive careers in different areas. Without a single-minded focus they probably won’t be among the highest level of experts in a field and may or may not have a lot of earnings, but they amass a breadth of knowledge and skills and may be successful in many other ways.
So here’s a shout out to all the people who work hard to achieve their own definition of success. Cheers to your achievements!
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