8 Secrets of Success with Richard St. John

In order to succeed you must focus and have a passion for an idea to serve something of value, and you must push yourself to work hard, become good at it, and persist in your efforts. In the video below, Richard St. John presents 8 Secrets to Success. 


1. Passion

I’m driven by my passion.
-Freeman Thomas
(car designer, DaimlerChrysler)

Do it for LOVE not MONEY.

I would pay someone to do what I do.
-Carol Coletta (radio producer, Smart City)

2. Work

It’s all hard work.
Nothing comes easily.
But I have a lot of fun.
-Rupert Murdoch (big cheese CEO)

3. Good

To be successful put your nose down in something
and get damn good at it.
-Alex Garden (game developer)

Practice practice practice.

4. Focus

I think it all has to do with
focusing yourself to one thing.
-Norman Jewison (filmmaker)

5. Push

Push yourself.
Physically, mentally,
you gotta push, push, push.
-David Gallo (marine scientist)

Push through shyness and self-doubt.

I always had self-doubts.
I wasn’t good enough,
wasn’t smart enough.
I didn’t think I’d make it.
-Goldie Hawn (actor)

It’s not always easy to push yourself.
That’s why they invented mothers.
My mother pushed me.
-Frank Gehry (architect)

6. Serve

Serve something of value.
It was a privilege to serve as a doctor.
-Sherwin Nuland (professor of surgery, Yale)

Millionaires serve others something of value.

7. Idea

I had an idea -
founding the first micro-computer software company…
Bill Gates (software guy)

Listen, observe,
be curious, ask questions,
problem solve, make connections.

8. Persist

Persistence is the number one reason for our success.
-Joe Kraus (co-founder, Excite)

Persist through failure and CRAP.
CRAP – Criticism, Rejection, Assholes, and Pressure.