This is the story of a man who desperately wanted to succeed in his field. He approached a renowned master and asked, “How can I become as successful as you?” The master replied, “I’ll tell you my secret. Meet me at the beach tomorrow at four in the morning.” The young man was very surprised and said, “I don’t want to swim; I want everything to work out for me.” The master answered, “If you truly want it, we will meet tomorrow at four in the morning.”…
Stage 1
Morning came. The young man arrived at the beach in a business suit, expecting to learn the secret. The master asked, “Do you still want to become successful?”
He answered, “Very much.”
“Then walk into the water.”
“Into the water? But why? I’m wearing a suit!” He went in. (Eighty percent give up at this very stage: “I’m wearing a suit, I have social status.”) Inside, a voice told him: “That’s enough. You’ve gone into the water; that will do…”
Stage 2
He kept walking until the water reached his waist. He stopped and said, “Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll come to the beach in swim trunks, and we can walk through the water.” (Putting things off until tomorrow.) Inside, a voice told him: “That’s enough. We can do it tomorrow…”
He went on. (Eighty percent give up at this very stage: “I’m wearing a suit, I have social status.”) Inside, a voice told him: “That’s enough. You’ve gone into the water; that will do…”
Stage 3
The master said, “Go farther into the water.” The water was already up to his chest. The young man said, “That’s enough! People are watching us!” (Leaving the comfort zone; the gaze of others.) Inside, a voice told him: “What nonsense is this? Why do I need this?…”
Stage 4
The master led him farther away from the shore, until the water reached his neck. The man said to the master, “You’re crazy! And now what? Why the hell did you bring me here?” (Anger and disappointment caused by losing faith in the master.) Inside, a voice told him: “This is the limit!”
Stage 5
The master grabbed the young man by the head and began to hold him underwater. The young man struggled and clawed at him. (SUDDENLY, ALL THE DOUBTS DISAPPEAR, AND EVERYTHING IN PARENTHESES DURING STAGES 1, 2, 3, AND 4 BECOMES IRRELEVANT. FATIGUE VANISHES, AND YOU ARE LEFT ALONE WITH YOUR WEAKNESS—YOUR FEAR. INSIDE, THERE IS ONLY ONE VOICE: “YOU MUST SURVIVE!”) Only then did he manage to break free and gasp for air…
… The master said to him, “You wanted to know how everything works out for me? Well, I have shown you! Only by fighting for yourself, for your life, do you become stronger. Now you know my secret...”
“When you were underwater, what did you want more than anything?”
“To live.”
Then the master replied, “WHEN YOU WANT SUCCESS AS MUCH AS YOU WANTED TO LIVE, THEN YOU WILL BECOME SUCCESSFUL!” When you lack air, you do not care about your other problems—your expensive suit, people watching you, your social status, and so on. The only thing that worried you was surviving, taking even the slightest breath of fresh air. Nothing else! And when you reach the point where you want success as much as you wanted to breathe in that situation, you will become successful! Most of you only say that you want to become successful, but it is a weak desire. You do not want it as much as you want to watch television, go to a party, and so on. You do not want success as much as you want to sleep.
And I am here to tell you that if you want to become successful, you must fight. All people are created equal; it is simply that some of them fight to the end!
I once heard this story from Greg Plitt. I’m retelling it the way I remember it.
Questions about this article
01How badly do you have to want success to actually achieve it?
You have to want success as badly as, in a critical moment, you want to live and breathe, and be willing to fight for it to the end.
02What stops a person from pursuing success all the way to the end?
Attachment to status and comfort, the habit of putting things off, other people's opinions, disappointment, fear, and the urge to give up before reaching one's limit can all stop a person.