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Some time ago, I heard a perspective that stuck with me.

It wasn’t from any particular person I can now recall, but the idea itself has lingered, challenging the way I’ve always viewed success.

The notion is this: while we often credit “hard work” as the primary driver behind success, it’s actually just a prerequisite—a given. It’s like getting an education or learning a skill set—for most people essential, but not the whole story.

We’re all familiar with the typical success story, right? Ask anyone at the top of their field how they got there, and nine times out of 10, they’ll say, “Hard work.” It’s practically a cliché at this point.

But consider this: 99.9 percent of successful people have worked incredibly hard. It’s rare to find someone who’s reached the pinnacle of success without putting in the hours. The exceptions might be those who inherit wealth or stumble into fortune, but for the vast majority, hard work is a non-negotiable part of the journey.

But then, how many people do you know who work just as hard as the most successful people, yet haven’t achieved the same level of success? They hustle, they grind, they put in the long hours, but they don’t quite break through.

Essentially, while working hard is mandatory, it’s not the magic ingredient that turns effort into extraordinary achievement. In fact, it’s a baseline requirement now—something everyone who’s ever made it to the top has done.

Let me illustrate with a few examples:

Imagine two people, both equally hardworking, with similar skills and knowledge. One might find themselves in the right place at the right time—meeting a mentor who opens doors, or catching a trend just as it’s taking off. The other might toil away for years without ever catching that break. It’s not that they didn’t work hard enough; it’s that the universe didn’t align in the same way for them.

Or take the example of someone successful in a booming industry. They might have started with the same work ethic as anyone else, but they happened to enter their field just as it was on the rise. Their timing, not just their effort, played a crucial role. Meanwhile, another equally hardworking individual might be in a stagnant industry, struggling to make a breakthrough.

Or take the world of startups, for example. Many entrepreneurs pour their hearts and souls into their ventures, working grueling hours, sacrificing personal time, and giving it everything they’ve got. Yet, not all of them end up like the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. Some startups fail despite the founders’ relentless hard work. On the other hand, there are endless stories of entrepreneurs who stumbled upon a great idea almost by accident or who met an investor at a random event, leading to their company’s meteoric rise.

I think about my own life, and there have been so many times when I’ve worked my butt off in my career. But the promotion or salary hike I was due went to someone else who just happened to be better connected or who got lucky with a high-profile project. Even though I absolutely f*cking deserved it, the stars just did not align in my favor.

So, if hard work is just the prerequisite to success, what really sets the truly successful apart from the rest?

The answer might be factors that are harder to quantify, like luck, timing, the right connections, and even the alignment of circumstances beyond our control. These are the unpredictable elements that often make the difference between success and mediocrity.

These days, the reality is that hard work is just the ticket we need to play the game. It’s the bare minimum, the entry fee. Everyone who’s reached any level of success has put in the hours, the sweat, and the grind. But if that’s all it took, then everyone who worked hard would be at the top—and that’s clearly not the case.

So, let’s stop acting like working hard is something extraordinary. And the next time someone says they succeeded because they “worked hard,” don’t just nod along. Call them out on it. Sure, they worked hard—who doesn’t? The real question to ask them is, what else happened? What made them stand out?

Success is no longer just about hard work—it’s about those critical elements that aren’t always in our hands. And that’s the conversation we need to start having.

What do you think? Am I just full of it? Or does this idea have some merit? Have you noticed the same in your journey or observed it in others?

It’s a conversation worth having, especially in a world that often glorifies hard work without acknowledging the full picture.

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