The Myth of Overnight Success

Most of us are seduced by the idea of overnight success. 

Success is not built overnight. Success is a long process and requires hard work and dedication. It takes a view of the long-term, a reliance on core principles and a commitment to the customer above all else. 

We want to believe the myth that success is easy to come by. But success in business takes time, energy and hard work—lots of all three. Personally, I’ve never met an overnight success.

I’ve met people who’ve done something well for a long time and were suddenly discovered. Then everyone assumed they came out of nowhere, that their fame happened overnight. But the real truth is that it takes a long time to be an overnight success.

Our society is fascinated by get-rich-quick schemes, miracle weight-loss programs, the idea of instant results, instant wealth—the overnight success. Too often, integrity is sacrificed to those efforts and, even if there are temporary riches, there is no real success. 

In the end, successful companies and people are those that recognize that success is built with integrity, one day at a time, and they put in the time to prove it. 

Greatest Thoughts from Barrie Bergman author of the book Nice guys finish first.