Why Your Success Is Failing You

It’s the one thing that separates you from greatness

Do you know who Ron Wayne is? My guess is, most of you don’t.

He is the guy who gave up on a potential ~$200bn in today’s money for $800 in 1976.

Yes, that’s right, the man could have been richer than Bill Gates by a margin. Let that sink in for a bit before we go further.

Ron Wayne was one of the three co-founders of Apple and had a 10% stake in the partnership. Yet, 12 days after the company was founded on Apr 1, 1976, he sold his 10% stake for a sum total of US$800. A year later, he received another US$1500 as a part of the final settlement for his agreement to forfeit his right to make any claims against the new company.

Today, Apple’s market cap is at close to ~$2 trillion and based on that his 10% original share would make him worth nearly $200bn.

Wayne, in an interview with Business Insider, revealed that he did not regret his decision to quit Apple and sell his 10% share in the company. According to him, he made the best decision as per the prevailing situation at that time. Wayne was 41 in 1976, while his co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs were in their early-20s. In another interview with Bloomberg, he admitted:

“They were absolute whirlwinds aside from the fact they were intellectual giants, which I recognized, and it was like having a tiger by the tail; you can’t hang on and you can’t let go”

He believed that Apple would become a successful venture, but not without a fair share of roadblocks.

That right there is the mentality that causes many of us to cash-in on our success far too soon and deprives us of greater rewards and potential greatness.

Let us take a look at some real-life closer-to-home examples and reasons that many of you might identify with.

The Fruit Called Greatness Never Grows From the Tree Called Comfort

“You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Roy T. Bennett

This is exactly what success does to us. When you’re in a good, steady job, and you’re making a handsome salary, it seems too good to let go.

There is also a risk involved in letting go of a bird in hand to chase two in the bush. Most conventional wisdom will also advise you against taking an unnecessary risk. But the reality is, to have a shot at greatness, you need to step out of that comfort zone of “conceived success”.

The odds may be stacked against you, but if you’ve managed to succeed in life so far, trust your abilities and skillsets to also translate that success into a different, much larger setting.

Stepping out of the comfort zone, and taking a step towards that elusive goal of yours is the most important thing.

Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom, left a senior position at Cisco and created the company. Yuan pitched Cisco a new, smartphone-friendly video conferencing system in 2011, The Financial Times reported. When his bosses shot him down, Yuan left Cisco to found Zoom. Today, he is worth ~US$15bn.

“For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.” — Amy Carmichael, If

Anything of True Value Is Seldom Created Overnight

“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.” — Warren Buffet

The above investment rule, from the master himself, also holds true for building something of your own. It takes a lot of time, effort, and strategic planning to achieve success in your own venture.

Time is your friend and your enemy.

We constantly feel the need for instant gratification, and in that short-term chase, we settle for the small wins, rather than waiting out the long haul which may bring bigger payouts.

FedEx is a great example of an idea that took a lot of patience, belief, and risk to turn into the successful company it is today. Its founder Fred Smith, raised an astonishing $91 mn in venture capital before operations started in 1973.

However, in the first 26 months in business, the company racked up $29 million in losses. Desperate to pay bills, Fred flew to Las Vegas, won $27,000 at blackjack and wired it back to FedEx. The company returned to firmer footing and then went public in 1978. Fred today has a net worth of $5bn.

Apple was founded in 1976, went public in 1980, at a valuation of $1.8 billion, and today is valued at close to $2 trillion. A 40 yr timeframe alright, but for a 1000x return — surely worth it.

True value, and as a result, wealth is created over the long term, with patience, perseverance, and constant effort. It is very tempting and easy to cash-out on your profits too early, but as long as you have conviction in your idea, stick with it for the long run.

It’s an Obstacle Course, Not a 100m Dash

Going back to Ron Wayne’s example, he knew it was going to be a roller-coaster ride with its own share of roadblocks, and he decided to cash out instead of taking that path.

There are seldom any stories of greatness that don’t come with more than their fair share of challenges. From Walt Disney’s 300 rejections for the financing of Mickey Mouse to J.K. Rowling’s many rejections of the Harry Potter series, many of the examples of world-beating success we see today, have come after overcoming many significant challenges, most of which would have meant the end for an ordinary person.

In the Athletics equivalent, the path to greatness is more like a 3000m steeplechase, than a 100m sprint. It takes both endurance and the ability to navigate the various obstacles to get to the finish line.

The great thing about obstacles and failures however is that each of them comes with a set of learnings and invaluable experience. Use that experience and make it your fuel, to propel yourself to greater heights.

Final Thoughts

• Success is never ultimate, there’s always more to achieve if you just care to look beyond it
• Never settle for something and never get too comfortable, because that is when you cease to grow
• Taking greater risks is part of the journey towards greater rewards
• The journey towards greatness is usually a long and difficult one, but the end result is definitely worth it

And lastly, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” — Mary Kay Ash