Almost all successful and enduring bands, artists and songwriters had to persist for years before getting their ‘big break’. History tells us that talent alone is not always enough.
Something that all successful people do posses, however, is tenacity. Above all other traits, tenacity seems to hold the key to success. Tenacity is the natural ability to be persistent and work towards a goal with focus and unwavering commitment.
Unlike all other attributes that I would associate with success (confidence, skill, ability, contacts etc), tenacity is the hardest to acquire. You can’t learn it, practice it or fake it, either you have it or you don’t.
Tenacity will pick you up when you have been unsuccessful time and time again. It will give you the discipline to practice harder. It will give you the grit to fight on. Tenacity is the engine of success, the driving force.
So how does this relate to getting your music discovered? Pitching your music is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to connect with the right industry professionals. There are lots of songwriters and bands out there muddying the waters. Only those with tenacity will find their way through the murky depths to success.
Will Smith, one of the worlds most successful movie stars attributes his success (in music and film) to one thing, tenacity. He said; “The only thing distinctly different about me is that I am not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked. Period.”
The tenacious among us are able to deal with failure, fatigue, doubt and set backs, which means they will out last (and out perform) the competition. Tenacity isn’t just about working hard, it’s about having focus, taking action and always pushing forward, edging relentlessly towards your goals.
In my mind, of all the assets one may naturally process when trying to attain success, tenacity trumps them all, no matter what the aim is.
Another startling example of the power of tenacity can be found in Michael Jordans story. Most people wouldn’t believe that the greatest basketball betting player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team.
Luckily he had tenacity and once commented, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Take a look at some more famous people who failed at first
If you enjoyed this post, you might like The Shadow Lands which talks about the importance of taking action.
Engine Photograph by Robert Linder
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4 Comments on "The Engine Of Success"
that was a good post bro, thats the realist topic ever.
Thanks Riv One! I checked out your website and thank you for mentioning us. Glad you liked the article buddy.
I appreciate you writing about this very important topic.
However, I’d like to point out that you write, “tenacity is the hardest [attribute] to acquire,” which implies that it CAN be acquired.
But then you immediately follow that statement with, “You can’t learn it, practice it or fake it, either you have it or you don’t.”
This seems contradictory to me. Also I disagree that tenacity can’t be learned.
Difficult to learn? Definitely. Impossible? No.
Saying the “key” attribute to success (tenacity) can’t be learned implies that people who aren’t currently tenacious will not be successful which no one can predict.
Again, though, I really appreciated reading this post and look forward to future posts.
Hi “A”, great comments and you are completely right. I should have left out the word ‘acquire’.
I have seen people become ‘motivated’ and enjoy increased drive but that is very different from tenacity. Simple motivation is hard to sustain long term, over many years.
However, perhaps a strong enough desire to succeed can in fact turn temporary motivation into tenacity.
A determining factor would be how strongly someone desires (or needs) something. If you simply can not live without that “something”, you would naturally be tenacious in getting it.
Perhaps we all possess tenacity but don’t all have strong enough ‘needs’ to put it into practice?
You raise a great point “A” and I would be interested to know what others think because I am going from my own experience and observations. Can tenacity be acquired or developed?