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When Callie Rogers was just 16, she won $3 million in the UK lottery. She blew nearly everything on vacations, clothes, and other luxuries. The story of spend, spend, spend was the same for Alex and Rhoda Toth, who became destitute and eventually charged with tax evasion after a $13 million jackpot win. But those struggles are mild compared to the professional athletes who became blinded by the lucrative contracts they signed but failed to understand the repercussions of not budgeting (and preparing) properly. This was the case for former NBA player Jason Caffey, who earned over $35 million within eight years but ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2007. The same was true for baseball star Curt Schilling, who went from making $112 million to begging the Baseball Hall of Fame to return a sock he wore during a famous pitch so he could auction it off to pay his bills.
All of these instances have one thing in common: None of the lottery winners or athletes were remotely prepared for all the consequences of success. As you try to achieve professional advancements, you might not be prepared yet, either. But the time is now to prepare yourself so you don't lose all the security and happiness you worked hard for.
The One Who Defines Success for You Is You
Begin by defining success as you see it. When I was a general manager two decades ago, I taught goal-setting principles in a voluntary open forum to people in my company. While several individuals defined success as receiving promotions or buying a nice house, one woman confessed that what she saw as important was to be a good wife, mom, and, someday, a grandmother.
Was her definition of success different? Sure. But it wasn't wrong. Just like her, you need to define what success means for you. It's OK if your definition isn't the same as what others come up with. Success is a relative thing. But you can't prepare for it until you paint a clear picture of what success should look like.
If your image of success is still a little fuzzy, consider these four questions. Which one dominates your mind share from a professional standpoint?
- How do I keep my current job?
- How do I get better at my current job?
- How do I get a promotion?
- What do I need to do to reach the top of my industry?
All of these questions involve distinct actions and ways of thinking. And although some people focus on each one, most tend to focus on promotions. Few people are willing to spend much time thinking about exponential growth. But if you focus on question four, you automatically take care of the others because you're preparing to be a person who can achieve significantly more than you set out for. It's like preparing for the Super Bowl. If you ready yourself for that level, hitting any point below that — high school, collegiate, or semi-pro — is within your scope and abilities, too.
The Journey Is Just as Valuable as the Outcome
Recently, I came across a post asking individuals what they would want if they could have anything. One person said they'd like $100 billion in gold. With that amount of money, they could do a lot, like establish trusts for loved ones that paid 10x their current annual wage.
In our quick-fix, energy-drink generation, most people think in terms of outcomes. This mindset echoes the lottery winners and professional athletes who thought they'd have a better life once they didn't have to worry about money. But that way of thinking misses all the value of the path, journey, and preparation that goes along with it.
Preparing for success in a more thoughtful way that prioritizes real values and incremental growth allows you to continuously appreciate all the effort you're putting in. You don't have to reach the top rung on the ladder to understand you're not at the bottom anymore, and you never have to wait to feel proud of yourself or objectively analyze to do better. When you do achieve success, you'll know yourself and your priorities in a way that empowers you to make a more positive impact.
Success Takes Two Things — You Control Only One
To keep advancing in a corporate environment, two things need to happen: You need to be well prepared for the next opportunity, and the timing and the organization must be right. You don't have much control over the latter because opportunities are naturally limited, and market dynamics can shift. If you focus on what you can control — the journey of preparation — rather than outcomes like promotions, you'll increase your odds of advancing and doing well once an opportunity arises.
In this context, people focused on outcomes often feel that if they don't advance, they're doing something wrong or not choosing the right steps. But sometimes, it's more about missing a preparation step than making a poor one. If we forget to prepare ourselves along the way, we won't be able to recognize and capitalize on an opportunity when one presents itself. Taking charge of your preparation means you can accept accountability for the results you get, all while freeing yourself from the stress of trying to manage the unmanageable. Focus on what you can control — being fully prepared for future opportunities.
To Win, Play by the Right Rules
When people think about success, they often think the game has certain rules, like if they get good reviews and people like them, they'll move forward. The reality is that those aren't the rules for success. They're just the rules for keeping your job. To really go somewhere, the rules are to define your own destination, concentrate on the journey of preparation, educate yourself beyond your current state, and focus on what's actually in your control. Adopt this new playbook, and you might just find yourself well ahead of competitors in a league of your own.