Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. ~Pele

Is there a secret sauce to success? I guess it depends on who you ask. I think of success like a harvest. Success is the fruit of your labor. Just like when seeds are planted and nurtured, they can grow into something viable, alive, and with the ability to grow. The same is so with your business. You have to pick which seeds to plant (your goods or services), find the best soil for growth (where are your goods/services most needed), work at it, nurture it (as in relationships, marketing, and market research) and if you stay the course and commit to all the seasons of change, in the end, the success is yours to be had.  

That doesn’t sound easy at all. Because it’s not. There is no easy way to get to the highest level of achievement, so you really need to like, nay, love what you are doing or you will most likely get sick of it, and you might even give up. It’s a lot easier to deal with the grind, the ups, and the downs, if you truly believe in your ability and love what you are doing. Your reason, your “why”, i.e., your family, kids, responsibilities, even your own ego, and pride can only get you so far. Your “why”, is actually a “who”, it can motivate you, but it can’t get you to the finish line like truly enjoying and loving what you do. 

The people who most inspire me, both those I know personally and those I aspire to be like, all share this in common. They share a joy in being great at what makes them happy. They have struggled. They have failed. They have been overworked and underpaid. They have seen the days of being taken advantage of and turned it into a lesson. The biggest asset every successful person has are the lessons learned from the toughest of times to teach them how to navigate through them, get to the other side, and try again with a renewed sense of what it will take if they truly want to be successful. 

Challenges are an opportunity to grow, to learn, to get better at whatever you’re doing. I’m a big believer in that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. You get to live another day to try again and do better, be better, grow, and move on. I have seen some truly tough days and when in the thick of it I thought it would never end. But it did. And what I learned from it made me stronger than any of my achievements have ever provided. It showed me what I was made of and how if I really believed in myself, and became the “me” I envisioned, and worked at what I truly love to do, that I could find success in everyday things. 

GovCon is not for the faint of heart. Don’t get me wrong, it is filled with opportunities for success, and the money ain’t bad either. But you have to commit to studying, learning and have a willingness to sacrifice and stay the course. Follow the lead of those who have gone before you. Ask for help. Learn from your mistakes, and try, try again. The ones that make it across the finish line the way they intended are those who truly love the journey it takes to get there.