“99% of those individuals who achieve their goals do so not because they are especially talented, intelligent, good-looking or even lucky, but rather because they find the courage and guts to act in pursuit of their dreams and persist against setbacks.” [1]

I don’t know where Randel got this statistic from or whether it’s reliable, but it certainly is useful. Looks, talent, intelligence all have a big role to play in success, but the point Randel makes is that even if you have all these things, if you don’t have the courage to use them then they are worthless.

Even if you’ve been dealt the best hand of cards anyone could hope for, if you don’t bother to play them you’ll never going to win.

So short and to the point: dream, act, persist, and then dream some more…

 

Reference:

[1] Jim Randel The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline

 

Did I really read this? Yes. God knows I need self-discipline, especially when it comes to chocolate.