Everyone wants to be successful, but why do so few people actually achieve success in life?

I believe so few people become successful because success is based on making good decisions, which is based on good judgement, which is based on having experience. Most people don’t give themselves the opportunity to truly get a lot of experience in new ventures because when it gets tough early on they quit and give up, rather then pushing through to improve their shot of being successful in the long term.

It seems simple — stick with something and you will be successful. Why do people quit in your opinion?

I think our culture is geared towards applauding effort and participation over achievement and excelling. So when faced with a challenge where you don’t see instant results even though you’ve put in a lot of effort, its discouraging, and it puts you in a position where your vulnerabilities are exposed. You’re forced to make a decision to either push through and develop yourself by figuring it out and getting better, or by moving on to something less demanding that doesn’t push you as much out of your comfort zone.  Most people unfortunately move on to something else and quit in the process.

Before you go, take a second to connect with me on Google+… that would be great.

Elijah Medge, Long Beach