As another new year approaches, one question lingered in my thoughts this week, ‘What does it mean to be an overnight success?’
This question lingers, heavy with expectation. However, I think it is also important to let you know that if you’re reading this, the idea of sudden triumph or success overnight is a myth! It is just a comforting lie we tell ourselves to avoid facing the long, unglamorous road that actual success demands.
As usual, I began reflecting on this as I listened to Chris Williamson and David Senra on the Modern Wisdom podcast. David Senra is a podcast and biography reading addict who dissects the autobiographies and biographies of successful people such as Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Charlie Monger, and many other successful individuals on his podcast, ‘Founders’.
Senra has learned that these extraordinary life individuals’ stories weren’t magic or chance but the byproduct of an unreasonable work ethic. These weren’t people who got lucky. They were architects of their success, laying bricks daily, year after year, even decade after decade.
One quote that lingers a lot around the ‘self-help space’ is from Steve Jobs, who once said, “If you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life.” I think the real meaning of this saying lies deeper. I have felt this a lot in my own business. It’s not about loving every moment of your work or business but more about loving the mission enough to endure the grind all the time. Loving what you do enough to face moments with gusto, even when it’s boring, painful, or seemingly pointless. Because on the other side of that pain lies the so-called “overnight success.”
This principle applies to all areas of life, including work, business, and relationships. Maybe you’ve set out to lose weight, gain strength, or reclaim your health. At first, the journey feels exhilarating, driven by the fire of motivation. But what happens when the fire dims? When progress slows and workouts feel like an uphill battle?
This is the crossroads where most people stop or falter. Yet, it’s also the place where transformation begins. To succeed, you must persist—not for weeks or months, but for years. The overnight success you admire in others is built on a foundation of unseen effort.
One of the main thoughts I considered as I was having these thoughts was, ‘When was the last time you saw a true one-hit wonder?’ Maybe in the 90s, the era of single CDs, the beginning of publicity marketing and TV ads. But now? Even those who seem to rise overnight have spent years, even decades, honing their craft. Countless hours of dedication underpin every chart-topping song and every viral fitness transformation.
In your journey, the same rules apply. Each rep, each disciplined meal, each early morning alarm—it all matters. Even when you’re not moving forward, you are building something extraordinary.
This morning, I read a story in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. The author Richard Ford was once asked by a struggling writer why success had eluded him and what he should do about it. Ford’s reply? “Perhaps you should quit.” That is a rather abrupt answer, but it made me think about the wisdom because he added, “If quitting isn’t an option, then persevere.”
And there it is. If quitting on your goals isn’t an option, then your only choice is to persevere, endure and enjoy the task. To press forward, even when the path feels endless, is better than the alternative because quitting is the only guaranteed failure.
But what about if you just feel like everyone else around you are getting lucky? You seem to be getting left out? Yes, luck can and may play its part. But probably not. Luck is no substitute for effort.
Luck generally more likely follows the maxim of being the line where ‘preparation meets opportunity’, and like Thomas Jefferson is credited for saying (although it may just be Edison drift at this point), he believed in Luck; he just found the harder he worked, the luckier he became. And it is just your perception of that situation. A false prophet to those who want things right now! Effort is rewarded more and should be your measuring stick because, as the Proverb goes, ‘All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty’ (Proverbs 14:23) To then be backed up in the New Testament in the letter to the Colossians that ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:23-24) by showing up every day—whether in the gym, at work, or in your relationships—you create the conditions for luck to find you, the eyes of the spirit, universe or whoever you want to call it to see you. Still, without the work, you will receive nothing.
One realisation I have truly come to terms with over the years is that pain is a constant companion on the road to greatness. The soreness of a workout, the frustration of a plateau, and the weariness of pushing through another day at work (even though I love my job) are all part of the process. However, the truth is that growth is on the other side of that pain. It is the byproduct of the transformation you’ve been chasing.
I think of Jobs, Ford, Toman Edison as he built the light globe, and the Rockefellers (If you know what they did?). They didn’t stop when things got hard; they leaned in. Love them or hate them, they understood that success is forged in the moments when quitting feels like the easier option.
If this letter finds you at a crossroads, remember this: success isn’t a single, monumental act. It’s the accumulation of ordinary acts performed with extraordinary consistency. It is time for you to realise that if you are willing to embrace the grind, persevere when the initial spark of motivation fades, and are ready to live a life where effort, not excuses, shapes your destiny, then carry this wisdom forward. Know that the myth of overnight success is just that—a myth. And know, too, that in persistence, you will find your true strength, what true love means—experiencing the kind that transforms your body and your life forever.