Every day I receive messages from people that read something like this:

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to succeed! I want this more than you can possibly know and I'm going to make it happen. Failure is unacceptable and losing is not an option."

When I read this, I know this person is likely not going to make it. I bet you're wondering why I would say that. After all, this person is clearly highly motivated to chase their goals and succeed NOW! What's wrong with that?

While many people will read a message like that and see all the positives, I see all the signs of someone who is misidentifying what it really takes to succeed. People often believe that success takes grinding hard work, intense effort, and long hours. Which it most definitely does! However, here are 2 things that are also REQUIRED for excellence that most people won't tell you about:

Time

When I say you need to put in time, I'm not talking about weeks or months. I'm not even talking about a few years. If you really want to be great at what you do, you need to expect nearly a decade or more of consistently and relentlessly working at your craft. This isn't something that can be rushed or skipped. There is no shortcut here. Someone who wants things NOW, will likely lose interest and motivation when they don't get it NOW. If you don't have the patience to wait for your goals, then you won't achieve your goals. It's as simple as that. 

Failure

That's not a typo. If you want to ultimately succeed, you must first learn to accept failure. Nobody ever got to the top of their field, their sport, or their profession without failing many times along the way. Failure is a stepping-stone towards success and it drives improvement. I've learned far more from my failures in life than I've learned from my victories. If you view failure as unacceptable, I can guarantee you'll never survive to see success. Who do you think goes further in life, the person that crumbles to pieces and despair every time they lose, or the person that learns from their loss and moves forward as a more educated and experienced person? It's an obvious choice. 

Do you really want to achieve excellence? Well, if you are prepared to endure a decade or more of consistent work and a path littered with failure, then you are truly prepared for success.