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Bob Parsons, the CEO of Go Daddy, often quotes an old Chinese proverb: “The temptation to quit will be greater just before you are about to succeed.” He should know; Go Daddy is the world’s largest ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned names and Numbers) accredited register. In layman’s terms, that means his company registers domains and hosts websites. That, in today’s digital culture, adds up to a lot of income. Parsons has a lot of rules for success, and many of them are shared by other wildly successful people.
5 Rules For Success
Get Out!
One of Parson’s axioms is to “get out of your comfort zone.” Go Daddy certainly does that with its edgy ads, but the number of people who watch and comment on Go Daddy advertising shows that other people have done the same thing. Go Daddy ads are known for celebrity spokespeople and quirky themes, and anticipation of their appearance on Superbowl Sundays has at times nearly eclipsed the game.
Persevere
Perseverance is a rule that all successful people follow. Margaret Mitchell, who wrote “Gone With the Wind,” didn’t give up when publishers rejected her book 38 times. The 39th time was a charm. Stephen King’s “Carrie” was rejected 33 times before it was published. It went on to become a classic horror film.
Sometimes, what seems to be failure turns out to be success with time. Joe Namath , former New York Jets quarterback, was known for being a great football player. Ask many people, however, and they will tell you the image they recall of “Broadway Joe” is a commercial he did with panty hose on his head. That commercial landed him a moderately successful career in films.
Forget Failing
Failure is not necessarily a negative thing. Basketball legend Michael Jordan says he never thinks about the consequences of making a big shot (whether or not it will go into the hoop); he just thinks about the process.
Albert Einstein weighed in on the issue of failure too. He said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole lifetime thinking it is stupid.” Successful people understand there is a lot to be learned from not succeeding, like what things you did wrong, and the fact that the world did not end because you failed.
Life Isn’t All Roses
Life isn’t fair. Of course it isn’t; if it was, everyone who tried would win. Annette Funicello (the Mouseketeer and movie star who developed Multiple Sclerosis and died in 2013) said it this way: “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.”
Be Positive
That positive attitude transitions into another rules for success: be realistic and understand what the worst thing that could happen might be. Then, talk to yourself about how you would handle things if it did occur. In other words, realize the odds are in your favor, but if they weren’t…
Most people believe their chances of solving a problem increase as they study the options. GO Daddy’s Parsons thinks it is important to make quick decisive moves. Trust your first instinct. In a digital world where entrepreneurship is flourishing, being the first to the party, could be the difference between starting the next Go Daddy, or never making it to the party at all.
[Photo Credit: Bruce Berrien]
Jon Dulin is the passionate leader of Unfinished Success, a personal development website that inspires people to take control of their own lives and reach their full potential. His commitment to helping others achieve greatness shines through in everything he does. He’s an unstoppable force with lots of wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm – all focused on helping others build a better future. Jon enjoys writing articles about productivity, goal setting, self-development, and mindset. He also uses quotes and affirmations to help motivate and inspire himself. You can learn more about him on his About page.
This is a great post, and so true!
I had read a long time ago that you must get out of your comfort zone to become successful, but I didn’t want to accept that. I was trapped in my comfort zone and didn’t want to get out!
It was not until I was forced out by life circumstances that I learned to live- and flourish!- outside that zone!
It’s still scary outside my comfort zone, but by forcing myself to remain out here, life just keeps on getting better, happier and more successful.
I went through the same thing – not wanting to leave my comfort zone, but then one day, life forced me to. It’s not easy, but gets easier as time goes on. I’ve learned so much by stepping out of my zone and try to remember that when I am scared to make the jump again!
This is really great Don! Sometimes when I get discouraged, I tried to be more positive even if I really wanted to give up.
It’s hard to do at first, but important to stay positive and push through. It’s amazing what happens when you do push through.
Thanks for the reminder. It is so unfortunate but most of us do quit just before we achieve success. The points you highlighted are all very important for us to remain focus.
I love learning from others who have found success. I’m a junkie reading their books trying to learn new ways of doing things or finding different ways to approach a problem.