HIDDEN GREATNESS

The deception of success!!

Lorenzo Paoli

2013

BESTSUCCESS!!!!

We are surrounded by seemingly exceptional events.!!• The writer selling millions of

books • The successful entrepreneur • The middle-aged man with a

big belly climbing to the top of Mount Everest

!!

Photo courtesy of: Ambro - freedigitalphotos.net

Average people doing extraordinary things we would like to imitate. !We look at them and wonder: “what do they have that I don’t?”!!!!“Nothing” is the right answer. !!

So we focus on the final result and we try to reproduce it. !!!!!!!!!!!!!I call it the “Fontana Effect” from the painter renowned all over the world for his cuts on canvas. Who isn’t tempted to say: “I surely could have done this myself!”? We say this because we do not consider what led to these cuts. Which is essential. !!

So we are dazzled by success we also want and we draw our own conclusions. !!

Often, though, they are flawed.!

!

!

We focus on the final, successful event, thinking that’s the extraordinary fact that made these people great in their sector and we try to reproduce actions leading to that event. So:!!

!

• We write a book!• we launch our business!• we open a blog!!

And we expect the same success.

But then… nothing materializes.!!

• The book is not published. !

• Our company struggles. !

• Our blog has 34 readers.

An athlete does not win the Olympics thanks to one competition. Important goals in our lives cannot be reached thanks to a single event, but thanks to the habits we follow every day.

Photo courtesy of: Stuart Miles - freedigitalphotos.net

Habits are routine behaviours that help us work on “automatic pilot”. They start from a cue in the environmnet, which triggers a specific routine with a purpose: getting the expected reward.

Habits may be good:!- it’s evening (cue)!- I go for a run (routine)!- I feel good !(reward)

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…or bad.!- it’s evening (cue)!- I plunge on the sofa, switch off my brain and eat junk food (routine)!- I entertain myself and I fill up my stomach (reward)

Photo courtesy of: Ambro - freedigitalphotos.net

Photo courtesy of: Ambro - freedigitalphotos.net

What we often do not understand is that the final event is not very important in explaining how to reach a particular

result.!!

Example: we all know the extraordinary success of Harry Potter. So we think we should write a series of books to be

successful. !!

Wrong. !!

The extraordinary success of Harry Potter comes from a great marketing campaign and an awful lot of luck - right

character, right moment, a series of books, many investors. !

!

!What is really interesting for would-be writers is what J.K.

Rowling did to BECOME a writer:!as a poor, single mum, she had

the habit, in the few moments when her daughter slept , to rush

to write her book. She never gave up and her habit made her

a writer. Luck and a great marketing campaign, made her a

global success. !!

Photo courtesy of: Ambro - freedigitalphotos.net

Even event that seem exceptional, such as climbing Mount Everest may be studied and reached thanks to

habits. !!

Many, absolutely average people, climb Mount Everest to the top every single year. !

! Bonita Norris made it too: she is a 22-year-old student,

with no trekking experience. !!

So… climbing Mount Everest is a walk in the park? Absolutely not. But we do not need to have special

talents. We just need the perseverance to follow the right habits. !

!Many of those that reach the top:!!- undergo hard training sessions for two years in a row climbing smaller peaks;!- have to save money for years: on average, around € 50,000; !- the need to spend several weeks at the foot of the mountain to get used to the altitude. !!!You do not have to ask yourself if you are willing to climb Mount Everest… !

!

!…. just like every other

result you want to reach…. !

!

… you need to ask yourself if you are willing

to follow the habits that will lead to that result. !

!

The real exceptional is not running a marathon. Absolutely average people complete it every year. The real exceptional is those people that, with a family and a job, wake up at 5 in the morning and follow new habits. For months. While others continue to tell themselves “I don’t have time”….!…. they just run.!!

!

Every important result stems from the

application of key habits - some specific,

essential behavioral routines to reach that

result. !! !

!

A mother with three children one day gets fed up with her job at the office and opens a food website.!

!Today, that website is Giallo Zafferano, a food site with

millions of users, best-selling books, a TV programme and a staff of 15 people.!

!That woman is Sonia Peronaci and she is the star of cooking

in Italy. ! !!

Immagine da. www.giallozafferano.it

There are many that, attracted by the fame and fortune of very popular bloggers sought for by companies, newspapers,

publishing houses and televisions, open their own blog to imitate them. The problem is that they focus on the !

fake exceptional: opening a blog.!

Immagine da. www.giallozafferano.itPhoto courtesy of: Just2Shutter - freedigitalphotos.net

Forgetting about the REAL exceptional, which is the key to become a great blogger. !!Sonia Peronaci, before becoming a star, wrote and posted recipes for 4 years, without pay, also on Christmas and other holidays.!!Always keeping that same, superior quality compared to other blogs. !!Those were the key habits that made all the difference. !!Who’s up for it? !

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Do you want to reach a seemingly exceptional result?!!Forget about the final event and look for the key habits you need to follow to reach that result. !!Then, simply, do not stop. !!In this way, the “normal” becomes!exceptional. !!!!

Photo courtesy of: stockimages - freedigitalphotos.net

!!

Find the result you want.!Follow the key habits to reach it.!

Always improve.!Persevere and never give up.!

!Excellence is a habit. !

Lorenzo Paoli Coaching Effective Habits

www.novaxia.it!